Genesis of Genesis. 



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THE 



GENESIS OF GENESIS 



A STUDY OF THE DOCUMENTARY SOURCES OF THE 

FIRST BOOK OF MOSES IN ACCORDANCE WITH 

THE RESULTS OF CRITICAL SCIENCE 

ILLUSTRATING THE PRESENCE OF 

BIBLES WITHIN THE BIBLE 



BY 

BENJAMIN WISNER BACON 



WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY GEORGE F. MOORE 
Professor in Andover Theological Seminary 



" The books of the Old Testament in their present form, in many instances are 
not, and do not profess to be, the original documents on which the history was 
based. There was (to use a happy expression employed of late) " a bible within 
A BIBLE," an " Old Testament before an Old Testament was written." To discover 
any traces of the lost works in the actual text, or any allusions to them even when 
their substance is entirely perished, is a task of immense interest." 

STANLEY 



HARTFORD 

THE STUDENT PUBLISHING COMPANY 



.J^^._ 



3 3 :: 



3^ 



Copyrighted i8qi 
By Student Publishing Co. 



D. S. MOSELEY, PRINT. 









BIBLES WITHIN THE BIBLE, 



TO 

EDWARD E. SALISBURY, LL. D. 

LATE PROFESSOR IN 

YALE UNIVERSITY, 

THIS BOOK 

IS DEDICATED IN TOKEN OF GRATITUDE 

AND AFFECTION. 



PREFACE. 

The attention of the reading public of America has been 
called frequently of late to the claims of the science of 
Higher Criticism, a study all-important to a correct under- 
standing of the Scriptures ; and in particular to that theory 
of the science which maintains the origin of the Pentateuch 
from a compilation of older documents. They have been 
assured of the practically unanimous acceptance of this 
theory abroad, and have been themselves witnesses of the 
divided opinions of scholars at home. Considering the im- 
portance of the subject, the enormous mass of accumulated 
evidence pro and con, the conflicting claims of scholars as to 
the resulting benefit or injury to accrue to Christian faith 
from the acceptance of the theory, it should be apparent to 
all, as a primary axiom, that the reading public are entitled 
to judge for themselves. 

As to the method of presenting the facts to the public, two 
propositions are easily established. 

I. The public require, not controversial argument, but 
explanation. 

The method of the controversialist, which ever side be cham- 
pioned, rarely gains more than a partisan applause guaranteed 
in advance, and the converts to be made among those " con- 
vinced against their will." It assumes that the public has 
already made up its mind, or else to judge for the public. 
The assumption is either false or impertinent. A public 
accustomed to exercise the right of private judgment de- 
mands, in the case of so important and widely supported a 
theory, a plain statement of the case, an explanation of the 
general principles involved, of the nature, rather than the 
details, of the argument, and as simple a presentation of 
methods and results as possible. It wants " the documents 
in the case." 



viii PREFACE. 

II. It is not necessary that the presentation of the case 
should be made from a standpoint of hostility to the new 
theory, nor even from one of indifference. 

The public wishes to do justice to the new theory. Until 
it has had opportunity to obtain a general conspectus thereof 
it occupies the standpoint of traditional opinion. It has not 
time to give to the minutiae of controversial discussion, but 
desires to be informed in general outline of the method pur- 
sued by the critics and the results propounded. Such an 
explanation can only be given by one familiar with the 
critical argument and at least in some degree in sympathy 
with the theory. The position of such an expositor differs 
however from that of the advocate and special pleader, in 
that he undertakes to explain and not to argue. He does 
not pretend to have no opinion, but refrains from obtrud- 
ing his opinion upon the reader, preferring to state the most 
general facts and grounds of critical procedure in an unbi- 
assed way, and leave the reader to draw his own conclusions. 

In accordance with the general proposition first laid down, 
the present work is addressed not merely to scholars and 
technical investigators, but to the general public. The 
author believes that critics and biblical scholars will find 
contributions of value to the science of documentary analysis 
within its pages ; but argument in support of these original 
investigations has been relegated to technical reviews, and 
even notes which require the use of Hebrew text have been 
inserted in a special appendix, reference being made by 
means of the numerals (i), (2), (3), etc. Chapter ly. is a 
reprint of the author's articles in Hebraica iv. 4 and v. i 
(1888) intended to exhibit the present state of the documen- 
tary analysis. The articles have been deprived of the foot- 
notes, in which all divergences from the analysis of Dillmann 
— given in the text — by six of the foremost critics were pre- 
sented, and for the purpose of a minute comparison of the 
analyses of Wellhausen, Kuenen, Budde, Jiilicher, Delitzsch 
and Kittel, the reader will be obliged to consult the articles 
in their original form. One of the principal results of the 



PREFACE. ix 

articles has been, however, to establish beyond the possibility 
of dispute the existence of a real and extraordinarily minute 
agreement of all schools of documentary analysis. The 
citation of the authority of Dillmann alone will therefore 
serve the purposes of the general reader, as it is, in the main 
and essentially, identical with that of all critics. The present 
work will be found accordingly to be in general a graphic 
presentation of the consensus of modem criticism. But the 
author has not restricted himself to a following of authorities. 
The analysis has been carried through independently, with 
results in a number of cases diverging from those of all 
former critics. For the process and evidence in these cases 
of original analysis the reader is referred to Hebraica, 
October, 1890, and following numbers, where it is given in 
detail. Technical argument has thus been avoided in the 
present volume, but the general reader will have opportunity 
by consulting chapter III. to assure himself that the recog- 
nized authorities in this field are fairly represented, while 
at the same time the more exact student has placed at his 
disposal, through the notes and references, the means of 
verifying all statements and examining the grounds of in- 
dependent analysis. A careful study of the opening para- 
graphs of chapter III. is especially recommended. If the 
few lines of Hebrew in this chapter and in Appendix II. 
appear somewhat formidable, the main ideas will be found 
available and even indispensable to the thoughtful reader. 

In recent years, thanks largely to the efforts of Profs. W. R. 
Harper of Chicago and C. A. Briggs of Union Seminary, 
the claims of Semitic literature to a position in the curricu- 
lum of study for every person of liberal education are coming 
to be felt. The literary and scientific study of the develop- 
ment of the Hebrew and Hellenistic religious consciousness 
as exhibited in their literature — the Bible — is beginning to be 
recognized as something not to be left merely to the pulpit 
orator and the Sunday-school teacher, but to be eagerly 
welcomed into the domain of school, college and university 
training. With the recognition has come a perception of the 



X PREFACE. 

transcendent interest of these studies and a growing demand 
from beyond the academic walls for admission to at least a 
gleaner's share in these new fields of scientific investigation. 

The author desires to meet this demand, and to present to 
all classes of Bible students, in churches, Sunday-schools, 
academies and other institutions of learning, as well as to the 
general public, that which might be expected to be gained 
from a course of lectures on the Documentary Theory of the 
Pentateuch, if delivered on one of the recently endowed 
university foundations for instruction in Biblical Literature. 

The method of the book explains itself. Part I. is intro- 
ductory. The science of Documentary Analysis and that 
inseparable from it of Historical Criticism are briefly ex- 
plained and illustrated. A more complete idea of each, and 
of their mutual relations, can be gained by reading the 
articles "Israel" and "Pentateuch" in Enc. Brit, 9th ed. ; 
W. Robertson Smith's "Old Testament in the Jewish 
Church," and "Prophets of Israel," D. Appleton and Co., 
1882 and 1883; Prof. Geo. T. Ladd's "What is the Bible?" 
Scribner's, 1888; and Prof. C. A. Brigg's "Biblical Study" 
(3d ed., 1890); and "Messianic Prophecy," Scribner's, 1886. 
Fr. Lenormant's " Beginnings of History " (translated), Scrib- 
ner's, 1883, and Geo. Smith's " Chaldean Account of Genesis ;" 
new ed. ; Sampson Low, Marston and Co., London, 1880, are 
books of kindred aim adapted to the requirements of the 
general reader. Of a more technical character are Prof. 
Ladd's "Doctrine of Sacred Scripture," Scribner's, 1883; 
and, as standard works respectively of historical and analyti- 
cal criticism, J. Wellhausen's " History of Israel" (translated), 
A. and C. Black, Edinburgh, 1885 ; and Kuenen's " Hexa- 
teuch " (translated), Macmillan and Co., London, 1886. To 
readers of German, Dutch and French, an inexhaustible field 
is opened. A bibliography will be found in almost any one 
of the larger works just enumerated. 

Part II. affords to the eye a general view of the processes 
and results of Pentateuch analysis during the 138 years of its 
labor. The typographical means employed display the text 



PREFACE. xi 

of Genesis according to the revised version, the portions 
assigned to sources, compilers, editors and interpolators 
characteristically exhibited, and the loss or displacement of 
material indicated, so that at a glance the reader may com- 
prehend the whole process of untwisting of each supposed 
strand in the composite thread, and judge whether or not it 
be reasonable. The references at the foot of the page are 
for the most part intelligible to the reader unfamiliar with 
Hebrew, and are mainly concerned with resemblances and 
contrasts in style and subject matter among the supposed 
documents. In a few cases they are intended to elucidate 
the thought, and go beyond the limits of the Hexateuch. 

Part III. affords a connected view of the supposed docu- 
ments J, E and P, as they are restored by the analysis. 
Lost material has sometimes been conjecturally supplied, 
but all such supplemental material is marked with [ . . . 
. . . ] These gaps can sometimes be filled with certainty 
from subsequent references in the same document (e. g. J's 
version of the first interview of Joseph with his brethren in 
Egypt corresponding to E in Gen. xlii., from J in xliii. 3-7, 
18-21 ; xliv. 19-29) ; sometimes all attempts at restoration 
of lost material must be mere guesswork. But gaps are 
fortunately the exception, not the rule. A few conjectural 
readings and amendments to the text of good authority, 
spoken of in the notes to Part II., are introduced in Part III. ; 
also preferred marginal renderings, and, in a small number 
of cases, new translations suggested by the analysis, and an 
arrangement of the text in verses, intended to exhibit the 
traces of metrical form displayed by the original. 

The first Appendix presents a group of passages connected 
with the Creation and Flood story, exhibiting remarkable 
affinity with the well-known Assyrian Flood and Creation 
tablets. Critics now regard these passages in Genesis as 
having been grafted upon the stock of Hebrew tradition, the 
majority considering them as an interpolation into the docu- 
ment J, others as incorporated by J together with the 
national epos. These passages are taken out as a group 



xii PREFACE. 

and placed, in Appendix I., in juxtaposition with the cunei- 
form narratives for purposes of comparison. 

In joining the number of those who are endeavoring to 
awaken a new interest in biblical study by means of the 
remarkable results of analytical criticism, the author wishes 
to express his most grateful acknowledgments to Prof. 
A. Kuenen of Leyden and President W. R. Harper of 
Chicago for the kindness experienced at their hands. Also 
to Prof. George F. Moore of Andover for his scholarly 
revision and criticism of the new readings of Part III., 
beside innumerable oth^ services of value, and to the 
eminent scholars to whom he is indebted for their courteous 
commendation of the book to the English-speaking public 
at home and abroad. To the reader who may approach 
these pages in the endeavor to find a deeper, clearer meaning 
in the ancient book than hitherto, he would express the 
sincere and sanguine hope that new light upon the unknown 
history of this long revered and cherished literature may 
prove it ever more and more clearly a "word of God," frag- 
ments providentially preserved of religious thought from 
that people whose history is the history of the development 
of the religious consciousness. If " given unto the fathers in 
the prophets by divers portions and in divers manners," it 
was no less "given of God," because the gift extended over 
many centuries, "line upon line and precept upon precept." 
It is no less divine if the fruit of generations of consecrated 
human hearts and consciences, rather than the utterance of a 
single individual. 

What is true of the individual investigator is in a still 
higher degree true of any science, the science of criticism 
included. " We can do nothing against the truth, but for the 
truth." If reassurance is needed in regard to the effect of 
presenting to the public these claims of the higher criticism, 
I prefer to give it in the words of others rather than my own. 
Says Prof. Briggs of Union Seminary : " The higher criticism 
has rent the crust with which rabbinical tradition and Chris- 
tian scholasticism have encased the Old Testament, overlay- 



PREFACE. xiii 

ing the poetic and prophetic elements with the legal and the 
ritual. Younger biblical scholars have caught glimpses of 
the beauty and glory of biblical literature. The Old Testa- 
ment is studied as never before in the Christian Church. It 
is beginning to exert its charming influence upon ministers 
and people. Christian theology and Christian life will be ere 
long enriched by it. God's blessing is in it to those who 
have the Christian wisdom to recognize, and the grace to 
receive and employ it."* 

In the firm confidence that a general acquaintance with 
the discoveries claimed to have been made by the higher 
criticism in the Pentateuch can only conduce to the lasting 
benefit of His cause, who said, "Thy word is Truth," this 
volume is respectfully submitted to the Christian public. 

Benjamin Wisner Bacon. 

Parsofiage, Oswego, JV. Y., October, i8gi. 

* Biblical Study. By Chas. A. Briggs. New York : Scribner and Sons. i8S6. 
Page 247. 



ANALYTICAL TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

Preface, vii.-xiii. 

Introduction, xxiii.-xxx. 

PART FIRST: INTRODUCTORY. 

CHAPTER I. 
Higher Criticism and the Science of Documentary Analysis. 

1. Criticism is appreciation. — Biblical criticism, both textual and 

" higher," is necessary to do justice to the Bible, and is the indis- 
pensable foundation of a valid doctrine of Revelation and Inspira- 
tion ; hence also of a scientific Revealed Theology Pp. i , 2 

2. The Documentary Analysis : Its field and function. — Treatises on 

its history and method. — Illustrations of its success from patristic 
literature Pp. 2-6 

3. General nature and history of Oriental MSS. — Agglomerative in 

their origin, and accretive in their transmission. — Explanation, 
and testimony to the fact Pp. 6-10 

4. Origin of prose histories. — The minstrels the first historians. — 

Literature at first mnemonic in purpose. — Illustrations from 
extra- Pentateuchal literature Pp. 10-22 

5. Relation of poetic sources to incorporating narrative. — Illustrations 

from Joshua x. and Judges xv. — Higher criticism goes behind the 
author to his sources. — The Book of Jashar Pp. 12-17 

6. Sources cited as such by the Pentateuch. — The Book of the Wars of 

Yahweh. — Prose sources named. — Deuteronomy and the Book of 



CONTENTS. 

the Covenant.— Other writings attributed to Moses. — Relation of 
the sources quoted as such to the Pentateuch narrative. — Theory 
of the analysis Pp. 17-21 

The ahalysis has the right to search the Scriptures. — A priori ex- 
clusion refuted. — An unreasonable demand complied with. — 
Unity can only be certified by the results of attempted 
analysis Pp. 21-24 

The demand for " credentials " complied with Pp. 24-25 



CHAPTER II. 
The Science of Historical Criticism. 

I. Documentary analysis is only preliminary to Historical Criticism. — 
Indispensableness of the latter to appreciation of both history and 
literature. — Results P. 27 

a. Illustration from secular literature needless. — Historical criticism 
is a cross-examination of the witnesses Pp. 27, 28 

3. Biblical historical criticism illustrated from the Psalms and 

Deutero-Isaiah. — Two methods of accounting for the phenomena. 
— Practical results of the critical method Pp. 28-30 

4. Biblical archaeology and the history of historical criticism to be 

studied in other treatises. — The purely literary branch of the 
science, in the single department of the Hexateuch, alone treated 
here. — A scriptural discrimination Pp. 30, 31 

5. External and Internal evidence. — The former includes Tradition. 

— All New Testament references belong under this head. — The 
doctrinal argument irrelevant. — Internal evidence. — For deter- 
mination of dates the two kinds of evidence are complemen- 
tary Pp. 3 1-34 



CONTENTS. xvii 

6. Date and authorship of the Pentateuch in the light of external and 

internal evidence. — The tradition. — Other external evidence as- 
sures its existence circ. 300 B. C. — Anonymity Pp. 34-36 

7. Evidence opposed to Mosaic authorship. — External e silentio, (a) 

from the history, (b) from the prophetic literature. — Relation of 
Chronicles to the older historical books. — Pre-exilic history ignores 
the ritual law. — The contrast might be due to disappearance of 
the Pentateuch Pp. 36-39 

8. The prophetic literature ignores the ritual law and positively dis- 

claims a knowledge of its existence Pp. 39-42 

9. Internal evidence. — How its force may be nullified. — Post- 

Alosaica. — Destructive criticism of Colenso. — Illustrations. — Its 
object Pp. 42-46 

10. The date 620 B. C. for Deuteronomy the key to historical criticism 

of the Pentateuch. — Why critics identify Hilkiah's law-book, 
II. Kings xxii.f, with Deuteronomy. — External evidence for this 
date Pp. 46-49 

11. Internal evidence in Deuteronomy. — Post-Mosaica. — Character and 

style of the Code. — The religious revolution demanded. — Its ne- 
cessity and radical nature. — Deuteronomy providentially if not 
miraculously fitted to the necessities of reform in the seventh 
century, B. C Pp. 49-54 

12. Position of the priestly code in regard to the great reform. — 

Characterization of P. — Relation to the history and litera- 
ture Pp. 54-57 

13. Relation of Deuteronomy to P an unbroken silence. — Deuteronomy 

"analyzes" Exodus and Numbers. — Internal evidence for post- 
exilic origin of P. — Illustration from Ezekiel of legal develop- 
ment. Pp. 57-59 



xviii CONTENTS. 

14. Characterization of JE. — External and internal evidence of date. — 

Its function in the prophetic movement Pp. 59-62 

15. J and E. — Relation and contrast of J and E., Pp. 62, 63 

16. Results of the Critical Theory. — An inductive doctrine of revela- 

tion and inspiration Pp. 63, 64 



CHAPTER III. 
The Documentary Theory of To-day. 

1. Purpose of the articles. — Method pursued. — The Grafian theory. — 

History of the amalgamation of JE. — Origin and incorporation 
of Deuteronomy. — The " prophetic" element of the Hexateuch. — 
Growth of the priestly legislation. — Rewriting of the history as a 
framework to the priestly legislation. — Supplementation. — Amal- 
gamation of the priestly with the prophetic elements. — Final 
redaction Pp. 65 , 66 

2. The theory of Dillmann. — Mainly a peculiar theory of the origin of 

P. — The earliest priestly codes. — The great priestly writer. — 
Simultaneous combination of E, P", J and parts of P' by R, 
— Deuteronomy and the Deuteronomist Pp. 66, 67 

3. Evangelical critics. — List of authorities P. 67, 68 

4. Table of Dillmann's analysis of P, E and J throughout the Hexa- 

teuch Pp. 68-94 



PART II. 

The text of Genesis according to the Revised Version in varieties of 
type to exhibit the constituent sources and method of their compilation 
according to the general consensus of critical analysis, with notes 
explanatory of the phenomena of redaction Pp. 97-223 



CONTENTS. xix 

PART III. 

The separate documents J, E and P conjecturally restored, with 
revised translation according to emended text and conjectural readings 
•of good authority Pp. 225-334 

APPENDICES. 

Appendix I. The great Flood Interpolation and connected passages, 
placed in juxtaposition with a translation of their cuneiform paral- 
lels Pp. 335-350 

Appendix II. Hebrew Notes Pp. 351, 352 



INTRODUCTION. 



INTRODUCTION 



" If you penetrate the secret of the twelve [last verses of 
Deuteronomy, containing the account of Moses' death], also 
'And Moses wrote' (Ex. xxiv. 4; Num. xxxiii. 2; Deut. 
xxxi. 9, 22), 'And the Canaanites were then in the land' 
(Gen. xii. 6 ; cf. xiii. 7), 'In the mountain of the Lord he ap- 
pears ' (Gen. xxii. 14), 'And his bedstead was an iron bed- 
stead' (Deut. iii. 11), you will discover the truth." In these 
enigmatical words Aben Ezra [f 1168J, the acutest of the 
mediaeval Jewish commentators, calls attention to a number 
of indications in the Pentateuch of a later hand than that of 
Moses. He leaves the inference to his readers with a caution ; 
" He who understands will hold his tongue " (Comm. on Gen. 
xii. 6). It is not certain what inference he himself drew. 
The mystery he makes about it might easily lead us, as per- 
haps it did Spinoza, to exaggerate the extent of Aben Ezra's 
departtires from the received opinion. He deprecates in an 
outburst of orthodox horror the temerity of a certain Isaac, 
who ascribed the list of kings in Edom " before there was 
any king in Israel " (Gen. xxxvi. 31), to the time of Jehosha- 
phat. On the other hand, it is not clear that Aben Ezra 
meant no more than to point out the existence of some later 
glosses in the Mosaic text of the Pentateuch. However that 
may be, with these observations criticism had made a begin- 
ning. It was a long time before anything more came of it. 
The new impulse to Bible study in the Reformation century 
did not take a critical direction. The erratic reformer Carl- 
stadt [f 1 541] declared the authorship of the Pentateuch 
unknown and unknowable ; the Catholic Andreas Maes 
[f 1573], one of the men of learning whom scholars will 
always delight to honor, held that long after Moses the 



xxiv INTRO D UC TION. 

Pentateuch had passed through the hands of an editor (per- 
haps Ezra), who had at least introduced words and clauses 
here and there to make the meaning clearer, and substituted 
for obsolete names of places those by which they were 
known in his time. The Church responded by putting Maes's 
Joshua on the Index.* Biblical scholarship had, indeed, 
much to do before addressing itself to the problems of the 
higher criticism. The ancient versions of the Old Testament 
were to be edited and the entire apparatus brought together 
in the great Polyglot Bibles ; the interpretation of the Old 
Testament on the basis of the original text — wholly neglected 
among Christians since Jerome — was to be taken up, and the 
tools of the interpreter created ; the history, geography, 
chronology, archaeology of the Bible to be worked up ; the 
versions to be compared with the Hebrew text, and the 
beginnings of systematic text criticism made. This work 
was done in the seventeenth century with a comprehensive 
learning and an indefatigable diligence which command not 
only our admiration but our lasting gratitude. There were 
giants in the earth in those days. Toward the end of the 
century the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, as we have 
it, was again challenged. Hobbes in his "Leviathan," 165 1 
and La Peyrere in his fantastic " Preadamites," 1655, did little 
more than enlarge and comment on Aben Ezra's list of diffi- 
culties ; though the latter argues also from the obscurity, 
confusion, and disorder of many parts of the narrative that 
we have a jumble of excerpts and transcripts rather than an 
original work. He does not doubt, however, that Moses 
wrote the greater part of the Pentateuch. vSpinoza, Tractatus 
Theologico-politicus, 1670, making Aben Ezra's obscure hints 
his point of departure, went much farther and anticipated 
many of the observations and inferences of subsequent criti- 
cism. He shows that there are much more serious difficulties 
in the way of the long-established opinion that Moses is the 
author of the Pentateuch than the superficial anachronisms 

* This did not deter other Catholic scholars from following in his footsteps. The 
Spaniard Pereira and the Flemish Jesuit Bonfrere are particularly to be named. 



INTRODUCTION. xxv 

which would at most warrant the concltision that it had 
been glossed here and there by copyists or revised by an 
editor. The whole history of Joseph and Jacob, for example, 
shows by its internal inconsistencies that it is extracted and 
compiled from different histories. No author could have put 
Genesis xxxviii. (the story of Judah and Tamar), with its 
introduction, "And it came to pass at that time," where it 
now stands, interrupting the history of Joseph and involving 
the most patent chronological absurdities ; it must be taken 
from another book, and introduced here by the compiler 
without sufficient examination. The hypotheses by which 
the commentators seek to relieve such difficulties, if true, 
would prove that the ancient Hebrews were entirely ignorant 
both of their own language and of the way to tell a story ; in 
which case there would be no principle or norm in the inter- 
pretation of Scripture, but every man might invent any ex- 
planation he pleased. This clear statement of the inevitable 
outcome of the attempt to remove critical difficulties by exe- 
getical inventions contains the judgment not only of the 
rabbinical commentators whom Spinoza had immediately in 
view, but of much modern exegesis as well. Such a method 
is not to interpret the Scripture but to correct it ; or as he 
says in a note, to corrupt it, and give it, like a piece of wax, 
as many shapes as you please. His own theory was that the 
Pentateuch and older Historical Books (Josh., Jud., Sam., 
Kings) were the work of a single historian, who proposed to 
write the antiquities of the Jews from the beginning to the 
first destruction of Jerusalem, and who largely compiled his 
work from older writings. Who this historian was, cannot be 
certainly established ; but there are considerations of some 
weight which support the conjecture that it was Ezra. 

The criticism of the seventeenth century is best known by 
the names of Richard Simon, Histoire critique du Vieux Testa- 
ment, 1678 (edition suppressed ; authorized reprint, Rotter- 
dam, 1685), and Jean Le Clerc, Sentimens de quelques the'ologiens 
de Hollande sur V Histoire Critique, etc., 1685, etc. ; to whom 
may be added Anton van Dale, 1696. These scholars agree 



xxvi INTRODUCTION. 

only in their negative conclusion : the Pentateuch as we have 
it can not be the work of Moses. Each has his own hypo- 
thesis of its origin. According to Simon it grew out of the 
public archives under the direction of prophets and scribes ; 
Le Clerc imagined it the work of the Samaritan priest, 
I Kings xvii. 28 ; Van Dale makes Ezra the author. 

Without some new instrument, criticism could not get 
beyond negative results. Its researches could make it in- 
creasingly clear that the Pentateuch in its present form is 
not Mosaic ; that it is a compilation rather than an original 
work ; but that true history of the book which, as Spinoza 
justly says, is the basis of its interpretation, it could not 
divine. The course of criticism in the seventeenth century, 
and again in Germany in the end of the eighteenth, shows 
that the logical drift of opinion was to bring the compilation 
of the Pentateuch down to the age of Ezra ; in which case, 
as no criteria other than the intrinsic probability of the 
relation existed, by which to determine the age or work of 
the sources employed by the author, the historical value of 
the work was effectually destroyed. 

The necessary instrument, the critical analysis, was put in 
the hands of criticism by the French physician, Jean Astruc. 
Astruc's father, a Reformed pastor, who abjured before the 
revocation of the Edict of Nantes, had given him a thorough 
education.* He rose to eminence in his profession, not only 
as a practitioner, but as the author of treatises which are still 
named with honor. It was the man of science, not the v' 
theologian, who discovered the secret of Genesis. The repe- 
titions, or parallel narratives (e. g. the two accounts of the 
creation of the world and especially of man ; the threefold 
repetition of some of the particulars of the flood) ; the pecu- 
liar use of the names Elohim and Jehovah in Genesis, in 
contrast with Exodus iii.ff ; the antichronisms, or disturb- 
ances of the chronological order, led him to conjecture that 
the author (Moses) had employed at least two older nar- 

* It is often said (e. g. by Renan in his preface to the French translation of 
Kuenen's Introduction) that Astruc was not a Hebrew scholar. This is contradicted, 
however, by his own language, Conjectures, p. i8 ; cf. Note p. 31, 32, etc. 



INTRODUCTION. xxvii 

ratives, one of which used the name Elohim, the other, 
Jehovah. This hypothesis he tested by carrying through the 
analysis. His success in this attempt was itself a verifica- 
tion ; but the verification became demonstrative when it 
appeared that upon the separation of the Elohim and the 
Jehovah Memoirs the repetitions, contradictions, and anti- 
chronisms which had so much exercised commentators and 
critics, disappeared of themselves. With the confidence of 
the man of science in scientific method, he wrote at the end 
of his prefatory exposition of these results : "So we must 
either renounce all pretence of ever proving any thing in any 
critical question, or agree that the proof which the combina- 
tion of these facts affords amounts to a complete demonstra- 
tion of the theory of the composition of Genesis which I have 
propounded." Unfortunately, few theologians had sufficient 
scientific or historical training to recognize the absolute 
cogency of the demonstration. 

Astruc's motive and his application of the results were 
conservative. He congratulated himself that his surgeon's 
knife had effected a radical cure of what he calls the " malady 
of the last century," the doubt of the Mosaic authorship of 
Genesis ; and especially that he had " annihilated the vain 
triumph of Spinoza," in the matter of Genesis xxxviii. The 
father of analytic criticism was an apologist. His own 
analysis was tentative and imperfect ; his criteria were too 
simple ; his application of them too mechanical. His hy- 
pothesis of the way in which the " Memoirs" were combined 
was artificial and improbable. But when all that is said, 
his discovery remains one of the most brilliant and fruitful 
in the history of criticism. 

His Conjectures had no better fortune than the works of 
laymen usually experience at the hands of scholars of the 
schools. J. D. Michaelis, in a review of the book the year 
after its appearance, gave the author the credit of being a 
well-meaning man ; but added that he seemed not to be ac- 
quainted with the literature of Old Testament studies since 
Clericus, and that his original contributions were worthless ! 



xxviii INTRODUCTION. 

The theory of the composition of Genesis from two principal 
narratives was taken up in Germany by Michaelis's younger 
colleague, Eichhorn (from 1779), and improved on by Ilgen 
(1798), who recognized a second Elohist (E), and in other 
ways displayed remarkable insight. 

In the early years of the present century the hypothesis of 
Astruc-Eichhorn-Ilgen, that oiir Genesis is the harmonistic 
combination of two or three continuous narratives, gave 
place for a time to the theory of Geddes (1792) and Vater 
(1805), who regarded the Pentateuch as a planless and dis- 
orderly congeries of loose scraps, of various age and worth, 
brought together by a late compiler. This was the direction 
in which German criticism had been feeling its way before 
Eichhorn, and to which it now returned. This " Fragment 
Hypothesis " succumbed to the demonstration, which was 
ere long forthcoming, that the Pentateuch is not such a 
hodge-podge ; but has, in spite of a certain appearance of 
disorder, a manifest unity and strongly marked plan. 

This plan appears most conspicuously in the main Elohistic 
narrative, the " Groundwork " of the Pentateuch, as it now 
began to be called. And this led to the hypothesis, which 
enjoyed for a while the adhesion of the leading critics, that 
the Groundwork has received extensive additions by a later 
writer. These pieces of new cloth do not always match the 
old garment ; they are often misplaced, and have sometimes 
made rents : the disorder on the surface of a well-ordered 
composition is thus accounted for. In this theory (" Supple- 
ment Hypothesis ") the Fragment Hypothesis is only half 
overcome. A juster and more discriminating analysis soon 
showed that the Jehovistic parts of Genesis have a plan and 
order of their own, and when separated form a tolerably 
complete whole. This was demonstrated by Hupfeld, whose 
work on the Sources of Genesis appeared, by a noteworthy 
coincidence, in 1853, the centennary of the publication of 
Astruc's Conjectures. Hupfeld rediscovered Ilgen's second 
Elohist, and demonstrated that Genesis is a cord, not of two, 
but of three strands. Criticism had now nothing to do but to 



INTRO D UC TION. xxix 

return to the original hypothesis, that Genesis is a combina- 
tion of older histories (so-called "Document Hypothesis"); 
and did so with more assured confidence, since all conceiv- 
able alternatives had been tried and excluded. 

Since this return to the right path much progress has been 
made in the details of the analysis by the studies of Noldeke, 
Wellhausen, Kuenen, Dillmann, Budde, and others. In Genesis, 
at least, we are approaching, if we have not already reached, 
the limit to which it can be carried. There will always be a 
remainder which defies our analysis. And, as in all other 
historical investigations, the evidence varies from the highest 
degree of probability to the most delicate balancing of seem- 
ingly contradictory indicia. But there is no reason to think 
that the general results in which critics now agree will be 
overturned. 

In this volume the actual status of the analysis is graphi- 
cally exhibited by the use of different fonts of type for the 
different narratives which have been combined to make our 
Genesis. The composite character of the whole having been 
thus made apparent, the unity and substantial integrity of 
the three main sources is shown by bringing together the 
disjecta membra of each of them. Synthesis must be the test 
of analysis.* Of the author's qualification for the task he has 
undertaken, the work itself is the best witness. It is the fruit 
of long and thorough study of the text, and of intimate ac- 
quaintance with the extensive and widely scattered literature 
of recent criticism. Mr. Bacon has proved his ability to do 
original work of value in this field by various articles in 
Hcbraica and the Journal of Biblical Literature which have 

* Earlier attempts to present the results of the analysis to the eye are— not to 
mention Astruc's parallel columns— E. Boehmer, Liber Genesis Pentateuchicus^ 
i860 (the Hebrew text in different fonts of type) ; followed by his Das erste Buck 
der Thora. Uebersetzu7ig seiner drei Qitellenschriften u. s. w., 1862. Lenormant, 
La Genlse. Traduction d' apris V Hebreit avec distinction des eletnens constitutifs 
du texte^ suivie d' un essai de restitution des iivres pritnitifs, 1883 ; English transla- 
tion under the title : The Book of GenesiSy etc., 1886. (On this translation see Andover 
Review X., 654.) Kautzsch and Socin, Die Genesis mit dusserer Unterscheidung der 
Quellenschriften, ti. s. w., 1889 ; second edition, 1891. It is proper to say that the pre- 
sent work was far advanced before the appearance of the first edition of Kautzsch 
and Socin's excellent little volume. 



XXX INTRODUCTION. 

received merited commendation from scholars. A more 
competent guide through the labyrinth of the analysis would 
be hard to find. 

It would not be strange if the very clearness with which 
the results of criticism are here exhibited should give rise to 
some apprehension of the consequences if they should be 
generally accepted. But surely apprehension is groundless. 
That a better understanding of the way in which God has 
revealed Himself in the history of the true religion, whose 
early chapters are written in the Old Testament, will dimin- 
ish men's faith in religion or the Scripture, or their reverence 
for them, is no less unreasonable than to suppose that better 
knowledge of Astronomy or Geology must impair faith in 
the God of Heaven and Earth. 



PART. I 



CHAPTER I. 



Higher Criticism and the Science of 
Documentary Analysis. 

CHAPTER n. 

The Science of Historical Criticism. 

CHAPTER HI. 

Pentateuchal Analysis. 



\ 



PART I. INTRODUCTORY. 
CHAPTER I. 

Higher Criticism and the Science of Documentary 

Analysis. 

/ I. Criticism is appreciation. To criticise means, both by 
etymology and correct usage, to do justice ; but as all things 
partaking in any degree of a human character are imperfect, 
and justice implies the exposing of imperfection, the word is 
naturally apt to acquire a sinister sense to which it is not 
justly entitled. Biblical criticism is therefore in reality not 
merely an innocent pursuit for specialists, but in the highest 
degree a science to be cultivated by all who honor and revere 
the Scriptures. To fail to criticise the Bible is to fail to do it 
justice. 

In former times when it was customary to deny even the 
existence of a human element in the Bible, textual criticism 
was denounced as an attack upon revealed religion. But 
textual criticism is now universally admitted to have corrected 
vast numbers of errors on the part of scribes and copyists, 
and may justly claim to have brought us by means of its 
marvellous apparatus for minute comparison of texts, to a 
position by many centuries nearer to the original writers of 
the Scriptures. 

The Higher Criticism* accepts the text which textual criti- 
cism furnishes as the closest possible approximation to the 
original, and identical for all practical purposes with the auto- 
graph of the latest editor or compiler as the case may be ; 
but beyond this point it undertakes to carry us still further 
back. It inquires how the text thus established came to 
assume that form. "Was the writer an editor or compiler 

* " By the Higher Criticism is meant that study which tries to reproduce the influ- 
ences and circumstances out of which the biblical books arose, and thus exhibit 
them as true children of their own time." Ladd. What is the Bible ? p. 126. 



3 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

merely, as the writers of Kings and Chronicles declare them- 
selves to be? Then what were his sources, and what was 
their authority? Was he an author, as in the case of the 
fourth gospel ? Then who was he ? When and where did he 
live ? Under what circumstances and for what purpose did 
he write ? What were his materials, and, if his personal 
opinions enter into the writing, what is the ground and de- 
gree of the respect to which his opinions are entitled ? All 
these questions are essential to a just appreciation of the 
Scriptures, and at the same time they are such as are legiti- 
mately comprised in the field of a special science. Until 
they are answered on scientific principles there can be no 
scientific doctrine of revelation and inspiration, no valid in- 
terpretation, and consequently no scientific science of Re- 
vealed theology. 

It is not assumed that there is no divine element in the 
Bible. It is not of course assumed that there is no human 
element in it, beside the mistakes of copyists. Nothing is 
assumed. One thing however is regarded as certain : that 
whether the Bible as it left the hands of the final editors was 
all divine, or all human ; or whether it was neither the one 
nor the other, but partook, as it is now admitted to partake, 
of the nature of both, there is no other way to do it justice 
than by criticism. By no other means can the human ele- 
ment, if there be one, be made to disclose its imperfections, 
and the divine element, if there be one, be made to disclose 
its perfections, but by Biblical Criticism, both the textual and 
the higher. 

2. But it is with only a single department of the higher 
criticism that we have mainly to do in the present volume, 
the subordinate branch of Documentary Analysis, whose 
principal function is the extrication of sources. Even here 
we do not go beyond the first six books of the Old Testament, 
which critics regard as a literary unit and call the Hexateuch, 

It has been the unique privilege of the present century to 
succeed in unearthing veritable libraries of ancient literature. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTAR V ANAL YSIS. 3 

Monuments of stone, tablets of clay, scrolls of parchment 
and papyrus have yielded up many secrets of the past to the 
patient search and scrutiny of the archaeologist. But a field 
of discovery by no means the least fruitful has been the page 
of authors and historians long known to our libraries, as well 
as of others recently brought to light. When we hear the 
ancient authors Sanchoniathon, Berosus, Manetho, and others 
quoted, the impression is apt to be made that copies of their 
works are in existence. This is not the case ; the works of a 
great proportion of these ancient writers are known to us 
only as they are quoted by Eusebius, Josephus, or some 
ancient historian whose works survive. But it necessarily 
happened that in many instances, especially in the earlier 
times, sources were not quoted by title and name, but simply 
incorporated ; for ideas of copyright and plagiarism, author's 
privileges and citation of authorities, are of modem invention. 
It is obvious, however, that no historian can write without 
sources, either oral or written, and if we possess more than 
one book wherein the same material appears, it becomes at 
once a problem within the ability of science to solve, at least 
in some degree, what the source was. A familiar instance is 
the book of Chronicles, which reproduces verbatim page after 
page of the earlier books of Samuel and Kings. Another 
kind of problem, almost equally familiar, is that of the Syn- 
optic Gospels, Matthew, Mark and Luke, where again we 
have the same material employed three times over in long 
passages verbally identical, but where the phenomena are 
such as to make the theory of direct transfer of limited appli- 
cation. 

That which is not so well known to the general public is 
the fact that a science exists, and has existed for more than a 
century, with definite method and rules for going beneath 
the surface of ancient writings, and, so to speak, examining 
the material of their foundations and tracing thereon the 
masons' marks, and that many important results of this 
science have already secured universal acceptation among 
those competent to judge. 

At present the trustworthiness of the science in its 



4 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

general methods and results can be best exhibited by an 
illustration drawn from patristic literature, since thus we 
shall not raise the mooted question of the documentary the- 
ory of the Pentateuch.* 

Up to the time of the publication in 1883 of the extremely 
ancient Christian document entitled, The Teaching of the 
Twelve Apostles, the eminent German critics, Bickell and 
Gebhardt had concluded from their studies of the so-called 
Apostolic Constitutions and Apostolic Epitojue that some 
more ancient document underlay these writings. In 1882 
appeared the work of Krawutzky, "in which he under- 
took to recover and reconstruct the imbedded earlier and 
simpler document." When, in 1883, this Teaching of the 
Twelve Apostles was brought forth from its hiding-place of 
centuries in a neglected convent library of Constantinople 
and given to the Christian world, the close correspondence of 
it with the document conjecturally reproduced by the pro- 
cesses of "documentary analysis" demonstrated the latter to 
be " a success of the most pronounced and brilliant character."! 

Like work to this so successfully accomplished in patristic 
literature, can be done, and has been done in the biblical 
writings, and its results have been scrutinized, checked and 
corroborated by the mutual criticism of many schools of 
higher criticism, comprising the most illustrious names in 
Biblical scholarship for a century past. Corroboration by the 
discovery of the actual documents supposed to have been 
imbedded in the Hexateuch is scarcely to be expected ; for 
the discovery of the Assyro-Chaldean Flood and Creation 
tablets,! though furnishing unmistakeable evidence of a rela- 

* Instead of a minute description of the history and methods of this science of 
Documentary Analysis, the reader is referred to the article Pentateuch in the Enc. 
Brit. IX. ed., or, if accessible, to a very excellent French history of Pentateuch 
analysis by A. Westphal, Les Sources du Pentatetique (Paris, Librairie Fischbacher, 
1888.) The methods can best be studied by the English reader in Kuenen's Hexa- 
teuch already referred to : by readers of German in Kuenen, and in Wellhausen's 
Covtposition des Hexateuchs, Berlin, 1890. 

t Professors Hitchcock and Brown of Union Theological Seminary. Introduction 
to their edition of the Didache. 

% See Appendix I. 



SCIENCE OF DO C UMENTA NY A NA L YSIS. 5 

tionship between the two versions, affords no material verb- 
ally incorporated into the narratives supposed to have been 
interpolated in Genesis. The archaeologist has however 
brought to light quite recently a document whose bearing 
upon the documentary theory of the Pentateuch is too direct 
and important to permit an ignoring of it in any work assum- 
ing to present the claims of the analysis. Professor Geo. F. 
Moore of Andover, in an article published in the Joicrnal 
of Biblical Literature 1890, Part II, and entitled, "Tatian's 
Diatessaron and the Pentateuch," shows how every process 
attributed by the critics to R. the Redactor, or assumed com- 
piler and editor of the Pentateuch, is paralleled, and more 
than paralleled, by those applied by the long-lost author Tatian 
to the material taken by him from our own canonical four 
gospels. That which in the analysis of the Hexateuch has 
been ignorantly denounced as " a crazy patchwork " is seen 
to be more sober, more credible by far, than the process 
actually applied by Tatian to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John 
to make his Diatessaron, or "Harmony of the four gospels." 

This work is itself an illustration of the constructive power 
of the documentary analysis, for it was reconstructed by 
Zahn in i88i "with conspicuous success" by means of a 
Latin Harmony of the sixth century and the Armenian com- 
mentary on it of Ephraem Syrus. In 1888 Ciasca edited the 
Diatessaron itself from two codices, the Vatican Cod. Arab, 
xiv., and a MS. recently acquired by the Museum Borgianum. 

For details of the comparison between the mode of con- 
struction of this composite gospel — for such it is, rather than 
a harmony — and the composite Pentateuch assumed by the 
overwhelming majority of modem scholars, the reader is 
referred to the above mentioned article. It is however the 
history of Tatian's Diatessaron which has a more immediate 
bearing than even its text upon the Pentateuchal theory. 
Prof. Moore will allow me to quote his language. 

"This harmony of the Gospels was made after the middle of the 
second century. ... It was for several generations the Gospel of a 

large part of the Syrian church, and is quoted simply as such 

After the beginning of the fifth century, however, there came a change. 



6 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

Rabbula, Bishop of Edessa (411-435), ordered that the churches of his 
diocese should be supphed with copies of the Separate Gospels, and 
that they should be read. A few years later, Theodoret, Bishop of 
Cyrrhus (423-457), found the Diatessaron in use in two hundred churches 
in his diocese — one in four of the whole number. He sequestered them, 
and replaced them by copies of the Gospels of the Four Evangelists. 
These names are not without significance. They are the opposite of 
'Composite Gospel,' the common name for the Diatessaron. The title 
of Matthew in the Curetonian fragments, which puzzled Cureton, and of 
which Bernstein proposed a wholly untenable explanation, expresses 
this contrast ; it is ' The Separate Gospel Matthew. ' " 

Had it not been for the forcible intervention of the bishops, 
the Syrian church would doubtless have repeated to the letter 
the history of the supposed documentary sources of the Pen- 
tateuch J. E. D. and P;* for in an uncritical age motives of 
convenience and the tendency to assimilation far outweigh 
the claims of literary comparison for the sake of historical 
accuracy. What the Separate Gospels did for the Syrian 
church the analysis aims to do for us by a Separated Hexa- 
teuch. The greater the number of witnesses and the wider 
the divergence in their standpoint, the longer will be the 
base-line of critical measurement and the stronger and more 
accurate the history determined by it. 

3. Complete as is the parallel between the history of 
Tatian's Diatessaron and the supposed history of the Penta- 
teuch, no one pretends to say that such a supposition would 
be probable in the case of a modern Occidental work. Two 
facts cooperate to make the supposition credible in the case 
of ancient Oriental books which in the case of modern books 
would be quite improbable : first, their long and checkered 
history in the MS. form, subject to all kinds of manipulation 
and interpolation such as textual criticism bears witness tof ; 
second, ancient, and especially Oriental methods of book- 
making. 

So nearly universal is the rule that very ancient documents 
are conglomerate, having incorporated in their history larger 
or smaller quantities of older or foreign material, that scarcely 

* I. e., Jahvist, Elohist, Deuteronomist and Priestly writer. See p. 21. 
tE. g., Mark xvi. 9-20 and John vii. 53 — viii. 11. Rev. Ver. 



SCIENCE OF DOC UMENTA RY ANAL YSIS. 7 

one exists to which the process of analysis has not been ap- 
plied with more or less striking success. 

The Egyptian Book of the Dead, perhaps the oldest writ- 
ing in existence, and the Homeric poems, are generally re- 
garded as conglomerate, though so far back as traceable in 
history they have been protected from divergent forms by 
canonization and hence afford but slight crevices for the 
wedge of analytical criticism. Other sacred books of antiq- 
uity, however, the Vedas, the Bundehesch and the Edda, are 
mines of primitive documentary treasure ; while the clay tab- 
lets of Sardanapalus avow themselves copies of works dating 
from 2000 B. C, and earlier. In fact it is the general expec- 
tation of the antiquarian that investigation of an early docu- 
ment will disclose still earlier fragments. Hence discoveries 
of ancient writings are no sooner made than appeal is taken 
both to historical and analytical criticism, to discover what- 
ever may be underlying the present text. An example is 
The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, wherein already 
the discovery of a still earlier portion by critical analysis has 
been announced and is generally accepted. 

These facts necessarily presuppose a somewhat different 
character and structure in ancient documents from that to 
which we are accustomed in modern literature. No one 
would think, for example, of trying to analyze one of Dick- 
ens's novels or a story of the war of the Rebellion or Ban- 
croft's History of the United States, into component parts. We 
might indeed be sure, in cases like the last, that certain 
sources must underlie the work of the author ; but we should 
know it a hopeless task to attempt anything like a recon- 
struction of more than minute parts of such authorities em- 
ployed, because of their great number and the thorough 
process of mental review and assimilation which they had 
undergone before composition began. But with respect to 
the writings here dealt with the case is wholly different. 

In the first place, works of fiction spun out of the author's 
individual mind are notoriously (with exceptions too few to 
be considered) not to be found in primeval literatures. 



8 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

Secondly, a certain class of writings, manifestly the auto- 
graphs of individuals, such as monumental inscriptions, are of 
course excepted in any case from the sphere of analysis. Such 
autographs are however, in the nature of the case, compara- 
tively rare and brief. When transmitted to us by literary 
transcription and incorporation into larger works, they are 
liable to those modifying processess — revision, emendation, 
expansion — which always accompany such transmission, and of 
which we shall have more to say in the course of the argu- 
ment. Writings of this class are therefore more apt to be 
the finished product of documentary analysis than its raw 
material. 

Thirdly, in the case of historic, poetic and religious writ- 
ings (the usual form in which the literary legacy of the early 
past is transmitted to us), we must expect a very different 
character and structure from that of modern books. A mod- 
ern writer has a vast number of works on kindred topics, 
which are also accessible to his readers. He cannot quote at 
length from all, he dare not plagiarize at length from one or 
two. With the ancient writer the case is entirely different. 
He has but very few sources — three or four at the utmost. 
He has neither the capacity nor the desire to compare critically, 
to digest and reproduce in his own language. On the other 
hand there is no objection to unlimited transfer of material. 
He may simply copy a whole book. He may copy the whole 
or parts of two books or three, and add as much or as little 
as he chooses of his own. In either case his work will be 
equally serviceable and equally approved. A book was a 
book, individually and by itself, before the days of systematic 
publication; it was judged by its contents as true or untrue, 
interesting or uninteresting, without regard to authorship, 
sources, or possible relation to other books, previous or con- 
temporary, like or unlike. The man who owned it owned so 
much parchment or paper, on which he copied what he chose 
and wrote what he chose. His successor owned it in like 
manner and could treat it in like manner. It is no wonder 
that ancient documents, of even a few pages only, contain 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTARY ANAL YSIS. 9 

elements extremely heterogeneous in character. It is no 
wonder either that we should find (as we do) that documents 
usually tend to swell in bulk as they pass on from generation 
to generation. Even supposing the owner of a book to ab- 
stain from inserting on the margin or between the lines 
observations of his own — an abstinence more apt to flow from 
mental indolence than from any idea of literary impropriety — 
he cannot be expected to abstain from inserting into his vol- 
ume any floating scrap of history or poetry which strikes him 
as valuable, especially if he has a notion that it emanates 
from the same author as the volume in his possession. 
Omission, on the other hand, would be comparatively rare, 
occurring only in very obvious cases of duplication or contra- 
diction. 

These «/r/^r/ conclusions were strikingly confirmed, as we 
have seen, by the discovery of Tatian's Diatessaron ; further 
illustration and authority for these statements will be afforded 
by the following extract from a review of vol. III. of Renan's 
History of Israel in the Christian Union for April 9, 1891 : — 

" Oriental history is cornpilation, in which the several parts retain 
their individuality. There is less desire for smoothness and unbroken 
connection than for the inclusion of all matters bearing on the subject in 
hand. That 'the pieces exist in their entirety, not digested (p. 58), is 
to a large extent true. Renan cites as examples of the habit the 
Chronicle of Malalas of Antioch, among the Greek compilations ; Moses 
of Chorene, Firdusi. The materials thus used are preserved in their new 
combination, but lost as separate works. 'It is, in fact, the law of 
Oriental history-writing that a book kills its predecessor. The sources 
of a compilation rarely survive the compilation itself. A book in the 
Orient is hardly ever copied just as it is. It is brought up to date by the 
addition of whatever is known, or believed to be known, besides. The 
individuality of a historical book does not exist in the Orient. The sub- 
stance is held to, not the form ; there is no scruple at mixing authors 
and styles. The desire is to be complete, that is all.' " (Pp. 61, 62.) 

Says' Prof. W. Robertson Smith of Cambridge : — 

" When critics maintain that some Old Testament writings tradition- 
ally ascribed to a single hand, are really of a composite origin, and that 
many of the Hebrew books have gone through successive redactions, — 
or, in other words, have been edited and re-edited, in different ages, 
receiving some addition or modification at the hand of each editor, — it is 
often supposed that these are mere theories devised to account for facts 

which may be susceptible of a very different explanation 

Here it is that the Septuagint comes in to justify the critics, and provide 



10 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

external evidence of the sort of thing which to the conservative school 
seems so incredible. The variations of the Greek and Hebrew text, 
reveal to us a time when the functions of copyist and editor shaded into 
one another by imperceptible de.2;rees. They not only prove that Old 
Testament books were subjected to such processes of successive editing 
as critics maintain, but that the work of redaction went on to so late a 
date that editorial changes are found in the present Hebrew text which 

did not exist in the MSS. of the Greek translators No 

one who has been personally occupied with old Eastern MSS., and has 
observed the way in which cop5dsts, on account of the scarcity and 
costliness of writing material, were accustomed to fill up blank pages at 
the end of a book by writing in some other work or passage which they 
wished to preserve, and that without any note or title whatever, will for 
a moment venture to affirm that the title at the beginning of the book 
must necessarily apply to the whole contents of the volume." * 

The testimony of competent witnesses is unanimous that 
early, and especially Oriental MSS. are far from being- uni- 
versally homogeneous in original structure, while their trans- 
mission has been exposed to almost unlimited interpolation 
and manipulation. The earliest Semitic authorship seems to 
have been frequently a process of agglomeration, of which 
the Diatessaron is only one of the latest and most elaborate 
examples. The transmission of these early works has again 
been not merely copying, but during a considerable part of 
the history a process of accretion. There are however two 
considerations which relieve the sense of dissatisfaction occa- 
sioned by this disclosure. First: elimination is much rarer 
than addition. Second : the very fact of great antiquity, 
although in one respect complicating the problem of analysis, 
makes the probability the stronger that the writing, if com- 
posite, is the resultant of few elements rather than many. 

4. There will be no disposition in any quarter to dispute 
the general proposition that the earliest prose histories are 
found to rest upon a foundation of folk-lore and minstrelsy. 
The history of literature presents to us in the earliest period 
the age of war-songs and ballads sung at feasts or round the 
camp fire by bards whose music is but a step from the ring- 
ing shield or twang of bow-string; of legends, too, that cluster 
around sacred groves or venerated shrines. The Homeric 
poems, the Runic sagas, survived thus in oral form for an in- 

* Old Test, in the Jeiutsh Church, pp. 105 and 109. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTAR Y ANALYSIS. 11 

definite period. While the treasury of tribal tradition was 
still small, for a period indeed which to the modern seems 
almost incredible, the memory alone was sufficient to preserve 
the most memorable of these traditions entire; but gradually 
the increasing- burden compelled reluctant resort to the labor- 
ious and costly method of writing. In most cases if not all, 
literature begins in the attempt to preserve the overflowing 
treasures of oral tradition ; the different forms of poetic ex- 
pression, cadence, rhythm, rhyme and alliteration, being 
mnemonic expedients previously resorted to. We need not 
be surprised therefore to find underlying a primitive historical 
writing, as one of its principal sources, individual songs, some- 
times of even epic proportions ; and not infrequently whole 
collections of early poems, usually of a warlike, often of a re- 
ligious character. The prose Edda reduces to the form of a 
continuous story the earlier lyric mythology. Herodotus and 
his predecessors draw upon the earlier legends of poetic 
form. Livy looks back to Ennius "the Homer of Rome." 
But most nearly allied to Hebrew writings is the Arabic epic 
Kitab-el-Aghdni, whose resemblance in its mingled prose and 
verse to some of the Old Testament writings is a favorite 
illustration of Renan. 

"Rhythmic structure," he says, "especially when conformed to the 
rules of the Semitic parallelism, is like the quipoii, the knotted string- 
which holds fast what would otherwise drop out of memory. Thus it is 
that every Arab tribe, making no use of writing, preserved, in old 
times, the whole Divan of its poems ; thus it is that the memory of the 
pre-islamic Arabs, from which it would have been in vain to expect a 
single accurate statement of historic fact, preserved, down to the time 
of the scribes of Baghdad, one hundred and fifty years after Mohammed, 
the immense poetic treasure of the Kitab-el-Aghdni, the Moallakdt, 
and other poems of the same sort. The Tuareg tribes in our own day 
exhibit phenomena of the same kind."* 

It is well known to what extent the historical writings of 
the Old Testament, especially the Pentateuch, Joshua and the 
book of Judges, are strewn with poems and poetic fragments 
antique in structure and often of great beauty. It will hardly 
be supposed that the author of the prose work himself com- 
posed the poems for the embellishment of the history. But 

*E. Renan. Histoire du peuple cT Israel. I. p. 304. 



12 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

if not, here is already a "source" easily separable, whose re- 
lation to the work which now incorporates it we should do 
well to discover. What if the Song of Lamech, the Blessing 
of Noah, the Oracle of Rebekah, the Blessings of Isaac and of 
Jacob form parts of such a fund of folk-lore and minstrelsy! 
In that case not only will the separate study of these frag- 
ments carry us back to an earlier period of the history, but a 
comparison of their standpoint with that of the writer who 
incorporates them, will shed an invaluable light upon the 
question how the latter shall be understood, and to what ex- 
tent our view of his narrative is to be affected by the sources 
to which he thus invites our study. 

Illustrations are abundant. The 4th and 5 th chapters of 
Judges give respectively a prose and a poetic account of the 
victory of Deborah and Barak. There can be no question as 
to the relative antiquity of the two, since the song bears every 
mark of a paean of victory dating from the immediate remem- 
brance of the triumph. The prose narrative in this instance 
makes a highly favorable impression by its correspondence 
with and at the same time its seeming independence of the 
poem, as if its author had at command some further details of 
the battle, written or traditional, though he manifestly looks 
back to "that time" as one more or less remote. 

5. But let us turn to another instance even more noted. 
Joshua X. 12, 13, contains a quotation expressly assigned to 
its source. The author, perhaps because what he relates 
might seem to require more authority than his mere state- 
ment, after quoting four lines of poetry says, "Is not this 
written in the book of Jashar?" The quotation is a poetic 
apostrophe to the sun and moon, placed no doubt in the 
mouth of Joshua, and reminds us of the impassioned asser- 
tion of Deborah's Song, " The stars in their courses fought 
against Sisera." It read as follows: 

Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon, 

And thou, moon, in the valley of Aijalon. 

And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed 

Until the nation had avenged themselves of their enemies. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS. 13 

We recognize at once the force and beauty of a poetical 
figure. But there is no evidence that the author of the prose 
narrative did so. To him it was simply a miracle, but one 
the stupendous character of which in its cosmical relations he 
of course could not appreciate. In a tone of wonder he de- 
clares : " And the sun stayed in the midst of heaven, and 
hasted not to go down about a whole day. And there was no 
day like that before it or after it, that Yahweh hearkened 
unto the voice of a man ; for Yahweh fought for Israel." 

Here we see an author distinctly citing his authority by 
title, and apparently misconceiving it. This is quite a differ- 
ent matter from that in Judges iv., and if we succeed in estab- 
lishing unity of authorship between this prose account and 
other parts of the historical writings, we learn to treat such 
other parts with the caution suggested by the discovery that 
the writer is dependent on a poetical source, the book of 
Jashar, which in at least one case he failed to interpret cor- 
rectly. 

That which is so undeniably true in the case of this passage 
in Joshua must be admitted to be at least possible in other cases. 
We find ourselves thus prompted by the very letter of the 
Scriptures themselves to this inquiry : Is it permissible to 
go behind the letter of the text in these other cases also ? — 
It is by this process of "searching the Scriptures," that we 
are led toward an answer. Where the narrative is not act- 
ually set face to face with the cited authority we cannot pro- 
ceed with the same confidence ; but we can proceed with a 
degree of probability which makes the whole study one of the 
profoundest interest to the lover of sacred history. 

No fault has been found with the revisers for eliminating 
from the book of Judges one of its most remarkable prodi- 
gies by a simple modification of the translation of xv. 19, 
from "God clave a hollow place that was in the jaw" 
to "God clave the hollow place that is in Lehi," although 
such attempts to lighten the task of faith are wont 
to be resented. Lehi of course means "jawbone" and the 
spring called En-Jiakkore ("spring of him that called"), which 



14 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

is at Lehi, is said by the writer to have derived its origin and 
name from Samson's prayer. The name of the place Lehi or 
Ramath-Lehi (''hill of the jawbone") corresponds to the 
Greek name for a certain promontory which Strabo gives as 
Onugnathos, "ass's jawbone," and is supposed by critics to be 
derived from the appearance of the cliff,* as in Hebrew a 
rock is called a "tooth," shen,\ and a cliff a "jaw." Will it be 
resented if after the revisers, by simply regarding Lehi as a 
proper name in v. 19, have eliminated one of the most incred- 
ible prodigies of the Old Testament, the higher criticism 
proceeds to remove the equally stupendous one which imme- 
diately precedes it, by doing exactly the same thing in v. 16, 
viz., translating Lehi as a proper name ? If this is permissible, 
verse 16 will read literally, "And Samson said. 

At Lehi an ass [or a heap] a heap, two heaps, 

At Lehi an ass [or a heap] I have slain a thousand men." 

The merest tyro in criticism will see at a glance that the 
word translated "an ass" in the text, which is identically the 
same word {hamor) as that twice repeated at the end of the 
first line, is simply what is called a dittograph, the com- 
monest of scribal errors, by which a word is accidentally 
duplicated in writing. Either because the word Lehi ("jaw- 
bone of") suggested the translation "an ass" for the first 
hamor or because the reduplication of the word ("a heap, two 
heaps") to signify great numbers made confusion, the simple 
fragment of a war song. 

At (Heb, be) Lehi, a heap, two heaps. 
At Lehi I have slain a thousand men, 

was transformed into 

" With (a secondary sense of be) the jawbone of an ass heaps upon heaps, 
With the jawbone of an ass I have slain a thousand men." | 

* Cf. note to Gen. xvi. 14, the well of Lehi-roi. 
+ Cf. French dent. Dent du Midi, Dent du Dru. 
J Cf. Heb. Notes, (i) 



SCIENCE OF DOC UMENTA RY ANAL YSIS. 15 

But since the elimination of the prodigy is effected in this 
case by the removal of a single dittographic word from 
the text, many will be inclined to consider this textual criti- 
cism. It is not. The author of the chapter himself read and 
wrote "jawbone of an ass," and builds all his story on the 
fact. We must go behind the author to his source, which in 
this instance is unquestionably an ancient song, probably the 
same twice quoted in the preceding chapter. When it be- 
comes manifest from verses 15 and 17 that the author himself 
understood his material in the sense, "With the jawbone of 
an ass," no matter how absurd the rendering, textual criticism 
has no more to say. It becomes the duty of the higher criti- 
cism to put the inquiry. How far does the author correctly 
interpret his source ? To most minds the conclusion will be 
inevitable that we have here instead of a stupendous prodigy 
the simple misinterpretation of an ancient song. 

Outside the Pentateuch it is therefore entirely possible to 
trace in some of the historical books, certain fragments of 
the sources employed, and even to place the source itself in 
comparison with the narrative deduced from it. Not only is 
this true, but we know the title of one of the most important 
of the earlier works quoted, and can make a beginning already 
toward reconstructing it. For the Sep her haj-Jashar, or " Book 
of the Upright," quoted by the author of Joshua x. 10, ff. is 
referred to elsewhere in the Old Testament and considerable 
extracts made from it. The noble elegy upon the death of 
Saul and Jonathan, II Samuel i. 17-27, there called (or per- 
haps directed to be sung to the melody of) " The Song of the 
Bow," and attributed to David, is the most important excerpt, 
and easily constitutes the most authentic and earliest witness 
to David's skill as a minstrel, besides corroborating the 
touching story of the friendship of David and Jonathan. 

" I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan, 
Very pleasant hast thou been unto me : 
Thy love to me was wonderful, 
Passing the love of woman. 
Behold it is written in the book of Jashar.'' 



16 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

But while this corroboration of I Samuel and of the tradi- 
tion which in Amos's time (Amos vi. 5) gave to David the rep- 
utation of a bard, is most welcome, it must be admitted that 
the period to which we should assign the collection quoted 
here and in Joshua x., is brought down to a later date than 
we have been accustomed to assign to the composition of 
Joshua itself. Even if we assume with Renan in his brilliant 
but inexcusably superficial and dogmatic Histoire du Peuple 
d' Israel, that the Song of the Bow marks the closing of the 
collection of haj-Jashar, we cannot place this date earlier than 
the reign of David. But M. Renan, who avowedly depends 
more upon the instinctive intuition of a French Semitic 
scholar than on the patient industry and cautious method of 
German critics, has in this instance been led astray by his in- 
tuition that the Sepher haj-Jashar must have been completed 
in, or soon after, the period of David. 

" It is therefore our opinion that the battle of Gilboa and the elegy on 
the death of Jonathan occupied the last pages of the book. Certainly 
there was no alhisi07i to the last period of David 7ior to the reign of 
SolomonJ" * 

A glance at the LXX. version, however, at I Kings 
viii. 12, would have proved that the building and dedication 
of the temple were also treated in the book of Jashar. The 
poetic fragment which, according to the Hebrew, begins — 

Then spake Solomon : 

" Yahweh hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness ; 
But I have built thee an house to dwell in, 
A place for thine habitation forever ;" 

was more complete and coirect in the text possessed by the 
LXX., and read in a way which restores both the parallelism 
and poetic thought of the opening line. 

" Yahweh created the sun in the heavens, 

But he hath determined to dwell in darkness, 

I have built an house of habitation for thee, 

A place to dwell in eternally. 

Behold is it not written in the book of Jashar." 

* " Nous pensons done que la bataille de Gelboe et I'elegie sur la mort de Jonathas 
occupaient les dernieres pages du livre. Assurement, il n' y etait question ni des 
derniers temps de David ni du regne de Salomon." Hist, d Isr. II. 226. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTAR Y ANALYSIS. 17 

How much beyond the dedication of the temple it would 
be necessary to bring down the date of compilation of the 
Book of Jashar it is of course impossible to say, but Renan is 
doubtless right in comparing the work to the Arab anthology 
Kitab-el-Aghdni with its ancient ballads loosely connected by 
brief prose narratives. To what extent it may underlie the 
older historical books is as yet a question which admits only 
of conjecture. 

6. In deference to the traditional belief in the Mosaic 
authorship of the Pentateuch, reference to the poetic sources 
incorporated by it has been avoided hitherto.* We may how- 
ever, without pre-judging the question, at least refer to the 
sources which the Pentateuch itself expressly presents as 
such. Thus Deiit. xxxii. 1-43 is introduced in the preceding 
and following verses as a song which Moses and Hoshea spake 
in the ears of the people. Deut. xxxiii. is another long poem 
introduced by the simple phrase, "This is the Blessing, 
wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of 
Israel before his death." We pass over the great mass of 
Songs and Blessings, from the so-called "Sword-song" of 
Lamech, Gen. iv. 23 f. down, which, by advocates of the Mosaic 
authorship, may be considered in the light either of incor- 
porated material,! or as the composition of Moses,! and come 
at once to a case precisely similar to that of Joshua x. 10. 

* Josh. X. 10, while belonging on the critical theory to E, one of the Pentateuch 
sources, is of course not regarded as " Mosaic " by the supporters of the traditional 
view. 

t So Rev. E. Cowley in his Writers of Genesis just issued (1891) by Thos. Whit- 
taker, 2 Bible House, New York : '* My belief is, and I shall endeavor to show, that 
Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Judah and Joseph were the original writers of those 

portions of Genesis in which they appear as the active subjects My 

treatment will assign to Moses the first editing of the records of Judah which ended 
with the death of Joseph. In Egypt and Midian he collected all the Hebrew records 
and traditions. They had kindled his enthusiasm and incited him to undue haste 
when he slew the offending Egyptian." 

% It is, I believe, customary on the traditional theory to assume that records of 
the utterances of Lamech, Noah and the patriarchs were transmitted in oral or 
written form to Moses. (See note preceding.) I am not aware, however, in what 
way the long poem in Numbers xxiii. f. is considered to have reached Moses in 
time for incorporation in his work, unless Balaam himself is supposed to have per- 
sonally communicated the substance of his prophecy. 
2 



18 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

In Numbers xxi. 14 ff. we have a poetic citation concerning 
Israel's coming- into "the field of Moab," introduced by the 
words, "Wherefore it is said in the Sepher Milchamotk Yahweh,'' 
or "Book of the Wars of Yahweh." A longer poetic frag- 
ment in the same chapter is attributed by the historian to 
*'them that speak in proverbs," or, as we might better trans- 
late, "folk-lore." 

' In the case of these and the other lyric fragments scattered 
through the non-legal parts of the Hexateuch the fact that 
the same type is employed in the analysis contained in Part II. 
of this volume is not to be understood as indicating an opin- 
ion that the authors J and E themselves composed the poems. 
On the contrary criticism frequently traces the origin of the 
prose narrative to the existence and sometimes to the misin- 
terpretation of the earlier poem.* 

No other poetic citation of the Pentateuch beside Numbers 
xxi. 14 ff. is referred by actual title to its source, but several 
of the codes of law incorporated, including all which by critics 
are regarded as the oldest, are explicitly referred by the Pen- 
tateuchal writer to certain "books," or "writings," which in 
his judgment were Mosaic. Whether by this he meant that 
he supposed himself possessed of an autograph of the great 
legislator, and transcribed verbatim j or whether the " Mo- 
saic" character of these writings was indirect, admitting of 
free transcription, interpretation and expansion from tradi- 

* By referring to Dillmann's analysis of Ex. xiv. (see chap. III.) the reader will see 
that in J, generally regarded as the oldest document, the crossing of the Red Sea 
cannot be called a miraculous occurrence though manifestly providential. The 
strong wind drives back the shallow water till Israel is able to ford the narrow gulf. 
On the further shore the battle takes place between them and their pursuers, who 
are embarrassed by the returning tide and finally turn to " flee against it " leaving 
their dead upon the seashore. The transition from this providential but purely 
natural relation to the prodigy of the later story, in which the cleft mass of waters 
stand as a wall on either side of the host and collapse at the signal from Moses' rod 
as the Egyptian host enters behind, is traced by some critics in the poetic license of 
the ode of victory, eh. xv., which in verse 8 passes from the poetic description of 
the wind as " the blast of Yahweh's nostrils," " piling up the waters," to the purely 
figurative 

" The floods stood upright as an heap, 
The deeps were congealed in the heart of the sea." 
Still this idea is open to grave objections, based however not upon the earliness, 
but the lateness of the psalm. Cf. verse 17. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTARY ANAL YSIS. 19 

tional understanding, both on his part and on the part of his 
predecessors; or whether, finally, he had no positive judg- 
ment to express, but simply adopted the current tradition 
which attributed all legislation to Moses, as in the Graeco- 
Roman world to Lycurgus, Draco, Solon, Minos, the Twelve 
Tables, we do not now inquire. Argument can of course be 
made to great extent on all three suppositions. The fact re- 
mains that these codes are referred, in the narrative which 
frames them in, to Moses, and are spoken of as "written" 
documents. No argument is here intended against the Mo- 
saic authorship, for we do not impugn the possibility that the 
narrative, even where it goes on, at the end of Deuteronomy, 
to tell the story of Moses' death on Mount Nebo, may be of 
Moses' own writing* as well as the incorporated codes. But 
the codes are incorporated as sources and we have no choice 
but to accept the fact when it is so distinctly written. Thus the 
author of Deut. xxxi. 9, expressly distinguishes the "book of 
the law" which "Moses wrote and delivered it unto the 
priests, the sons of Levi, which bare the ark of the covenant 
of Yahweh, and unto all the elders of Israel " from the book 
he is engaged in writing. Of that book he says, xxxi. 24 ff., 
that when Moses had written it "till it was finished," he com- 
manded the Levites to " take it and put it by the side of the 
ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God that it may be 
there for a witness." The present book of Deuteronomy pur- 
ports to be a transcript or reproduction (verse 9, "this law") 
of the book of the law which Moses wrote, and that book, if we 
can discover it, was the source of the Deuteronomic Code. 

In the opinion of critics we actually possess the book 
attributed by the writer of Deuteronomy to Moses, incor- 

* Jewish tradition is represented in the Gemara: "It is taught [Dt. xxxiv. 5]: 
'And Moses the servant of the Lord died there.' How is it possible that Moses died 
and wrote : 'and Moses died there' ? It is only unto this passage Moses wrote, after- 
wards Joshua wrote the rest. These are the words of Rabbi Jehuda, others say of 
Rabbi Nehemiah, but Rabbi Simeon said to him ; Is it possible that the book of the 
law [Pentateuch] could lack one letter, since it is written [Dt. xxxi. 26] : ' Take this 
book of the law ?' It is only unto this the Holy One, blessed be He ! spoke, and 
Moses [both] spoke and wrote. From this place and onwards the Holy One, 
blessed be He ! spoke, and Moses wrote with weeping," Briggs, Bibl. Study ^ p. 177. 



20 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

porated in Exodus xx.-xxiii., and in the narrative attached to 
it, xxiv. 3-8, called "the Book of the Covenant" and again 
stated to have been "written by Moses" (xxiv. 4).* 

Whether or not this opinion of the critics is adopted, the 
remarks just made concerning the narrative framework of 
the Deuteronomic Code apply in exactly the same way, and 
with the same force, to the narrative incorporating " The 
Book of the Covenant." The author of Ex. xxiv. 4-8, and 
consequently of the narrative of Yahweh's speaking, again 
distinguishes "the Book of the Covenant," which included 
"all the Words of Yahweh and all the Judgments" (cf. xx. i 
and xxi. i.), from his own narrative, and incorporates it as a 
source which he considers to be Mosaic. We need not neces- 
sarily assume that Moses did not write both code and narra- 
tive, but they are two separate documents written at different 
times, and the one serves as material to the other. The only 
other passages in the Pentateuch where Moses is said to write 
anything are Ex. xvii. 14, where it is natural, but not neces- 
sary, to suppose that the author had before him a narrative 
of the battle with Amalek ; Ex. xxxiv. 2 7f, where some will 
perhaps assume that the writing referred to was accessible ; 
and Num. xxxiii. 1-49, to which the remarks upon Deuteron- 
omy and the Book of the Covenant apply with equal force. 

It is certain therefore that the Pentateuch has sources both 
prose and verse, distinguishable from the text, and tolerably 
numerous. Of these sometimes only fragments are taken up, 
but in at least two cases the entire document. 

It is a well-known fact that besides these sources which are 
explicitly named, and sometimes described, by the Pentateuch 
itself, modern critics believe it to incorporate two principal 
narratives extending from Gen. i. i. to Joshua xxiv. t,'t^, called 
respectively from their supposed characteristics the Priestly 
Law-book and the Prophetic Narrative. The latter, now 
generally regarded as the older, is supposed to be itself com- 

* Those who wish to know the grounds on which Ex. xx.-xxiv. 8. is regarded as 
the "source" referred to by Deuteronomy, will find in The Old Testatnent in the 
Jewish Churchy by W. Robertson Smith, Note 2 to Lecture xi., p. 431, a detailed 
table of the laws in Ex. xx.-xxiii. and their equivalents in Deuteronomy. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTAR V ANAL YSIS. 21 

posite, a braiding together of a strand J derived from Judah* 
and a strand E derived from Ephraim. The interweaving in 
these two cases is regarded as similar in character to that illus- 
trated in the Diatessaron and exemplified within the canon 
by the confessed practise of the authors of Kings and Chroni- 
cles. (Cf.I Kings xi. 41, xiv. 29, xjv. 7, 23, 31, xvi. 5, etc.) The 
reader himself will have opportunity to judge of the value of 
the theory, and the author purposely refrains from argument. 
On one point however he is unfortunately obliged to assume 
temporarily the controversial attitude. 

7. Strange as it ma}'- seem to the student who approaches 
the Bible without prepossessions, to learn simply what it has 
to teach concerning itself, and gather, but not monopolize, its 
hid treasure, a certain class of writers demand that all 
attempts to learn by critical analysis what its component 
parts are shall be forbidden a pi-iori. Unless the critical 
prospector can demonstrate beforehand that there is treasure 
beneath the surface, not a sod shall be turned by pick or 
spade ; he is peremptorily warned off the premises. Would-be 
monopolists, and self-constituted " defenders " of the Scrip- 
tures of this kind, the expounder of criticism is obliged to 
meet with a straightforward and positive denial of their 
assumption. A typical instance is furnished in a recently 
published argument for " The Mosaic Origin of the Penta- 
teuchal Codes." f 

It is remarkable in many places for missing the point at 
issue, misconceiving the true principles and methods of the 
inquiry, and failing to appreciate the force of evidence. One 

* The letters J and E are abbreviations 01 Jahvist and Elohist, names applied 
from the characteristic use of Elohim in one document and Yahweh (Jahve) in the 
other, to designate the Deity; but as all critics agree that E must be of northern 
(i. e., Ephraimite) origin and nearly all (Kuenen excepted), consider J to have origi- 
nated in Judah, the letters serve a double mnemonic purpose. JE stands for Jeho- 
vistic narrative, the combination of J and E forming the so-called Prophetic Narra- 
tive. Sometimes it stands for their compiler personally. 

t The Mosaic Origin of the Pentateuchal Codes, by Geerhardus Vos, fellow of 
Princeton Theological Seminary. With an introduction by Prof. Wm. Henry 
Green. New York : A. C. Armstrong and Son, 714 Broadway, 1886. 



23 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

passage in the book so forcibly exhibits what the Pentateuch 

and the Pentateuchal question are not that it may well be 

transcribed in full. 

The author lays down as his general thesis No. i : — 

" There must be, in the first instance, some reasonable ground why 
the critical analysis should be applied to the Pentateuchal code, to 
justify any use being made of it whatever. If there be no presumptive 
evidence that it consists of various documents, it will be justly con- 
demned as a most arbitrary and unscientific procedure to divide it into 
several pieces, more or less strongly marked by linguistic or stylistic 
peculiarities. The question is not whether the process admits of being 
made plausible by apparently striking results, but whether it be neces- 
sary, or at least natural, on a /r/isr/ considerations. We might take a 
chapter or poem of any one author, sunder out a page, note the striking 
expressions, then examine the other parts of the work, combine all the 
passages where the same terms appear, give them the name of a docu- 
ment, and finally declare that all the rest constitutes a second document, 
and that the two were interwoven by the hand of a redactor so as to 
form now an apparent unity. Our first demand therefore, is that the 
critical analysis shall rest on a solid foundation, and show its credentials 
beforehand."* 

If we take every sentence and thought of this passage and 
reverse it, we shall come very near to a proper and reasonable 
first principle of biblical study. The assumption with which 
the writer starts out is that there is no presumptive evidence 
of various documents in the Pentateuch, or at least in the 
Pentateuchal Code. 

We will not take so cruel an advantage as to refer the au- 
thor to his own title, but surely it is presumptive evidence 
that the Pentateuch itself refers to its sources. For the re- 
quired "reasonable ground" it is only necessary to refer to 
the many Christian scholars who before the days of the 
analysis, were hopelessly puzzled and confused by the appar- 
ently duplicate accounts of the same event, incongruities in 
the material placed in juxtaposition, and other phenomena 
which the analysis explains, f 

*Vos. Mosaic Origin, 8cc. p. 25. 

+ Cf. Briggs, Bibl. Study, 196-202 for examples of higher criticism before the days 
of the analysis. Thus Spinoza 1670 regarded the Pentateuch as conglomerate. 
Richard Simon 1678 distinguished a Mosaic Code and a "prophetic" narrative, and 
called attention to : (i) The double account of the deluge. (2) The lack of order in 
the arrangement of the narratives and laws. (3) The diversity of the style. Cleri- 
cus, Van Dale, Semler, Vitringa and others shared these views. See also Ladd. 
Doctrine of Sacred Scripture, Vol. I. up. 501 ff. 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTA RY ANAL YSIS. 2S 

Peyrerius declared it " non vero simile regem Gerarae voluisse 
Sarani vetula?n cui desierant fieri muliebria ;'' and even the 
rabbis found stumbling blocks in the way of their own 
theory.* 

But supposing it to be admitted that there is no " presump- 
tive evidence" for the analysis; how shall we decide whether 
or not it is " a most arbitrary and unscientific procedure? " 
Here is a substance traditionally and popularly believed to be 
homogeneous, elementary. The chemist proceeds to test or 
prove this belief. How ? — There is only one way. By apply- 
ing the process of analysis. If the substance is not composite 
it cannot be decomposed, and in spite of the strange declara- 
tion in a passage we are about to take up, it is as true in 
literature as in chemistry that the supreme, perfect and only 
valid proof of non-composite structure is resistance to all at- 
tempts at analysis or decomposition. Division into all possi- 
ble elements is just the process by which, — and by which 
alone — literary unity can be demonstrated. If the work is a 
real unit the process fails; that is all. 

But the class of defenders of the faith with whom we have 
now to deal would rest their proofs on other grounds. " The 
question," we are told, "is not whether the process admits of 
being made plausible by apparently striking results, but 
whether it be necessary, or at least natural, on a priori con- 
siderations."! 

With every apology for so square a contradiction, we are 
constrained to say that in our view the question is precisely 
what the above statement says it is not; otherwise analysis is 
not analysis. A priori considerations doubtless persuade the 

* So Aben Ezra found difficulty with Gen. xii. 6, xxxvi. 31. Num. xii. 6f. and Dt. 
xxxiv. 10. Observe also the singular legend alluded to in 1. Cor. x. 4, that the rock 
struck by TAos,&s, followed X^a.^ marching host throughout the wilderness, a movable 
reservoir, which would seem a difficult conception to account for. May it not be that 
the fact that the story of its being struck and giving out water is twice related, once at 
the outset of the 40 years wandering, Ex. xvii. 1-7, and once at its conclusion. Num. 
XX. 1-13, the very name of the cliff (Meribah) being the same in both instances, was 
the ground for the belief? Such a deduction would be far from unexampled in the 
Talmudic writings. Cf. also the legend of Lilith, Adam's first wife, based upon 
Gen. i. i-ji. compared with ii. 18-25. 

tVos. Mosaic Origin^ &c. p. 26. 



34 HIGHER CRITICISM AND THE 

average man that water is an elementary substance; it is 
simply the results of analysis that remove the cherished error. 
As to the rash offer to "sunder out a page of any one author," 
let the writer simply try the experiment upon any admittedly 
non-composite writing and see what the "results" will be. 

For by " results " is the decision made at the tribunal of 
science; and upon the results, and nothing else, will the ver- 
dict be given in this question before the court of ultim^ate 
appeal, which is the forum of the Christian public. We deem 
it therefore a work not only permissible, but deserving of 
commendation and good-will from all quarters rather than 
hostility and suspicion, to bring these results before the public. 

8. There is but one thing to detain us before proceeding 
to the presentation of the results required, and that is the 
"demand" formulated in the passage above quoted, which 
seems to be made in the name of the whole traditionary 
school. "Our first demand therefore, is that the critical 
analysis shall rest on a solid foundation, and show its creden- 
tials beforehand." I assume that the writer does not mean 
that the analysis shall show its results before beginning its 
work, or rest on a solid foundation before being allowed to 
enter the field of operations or to even begin to build. By 
" credentials " therefore must be meant "testimonials" from 
scholars whom the Christian world is wont to respect. We 
will content ourselves with quoting one which sums up and 
includes the testimony of all. Our "credentials " shall be the 
statement of Prof. C. A. Briggs of Union Theological Semi- 
nary N. Y., (Presbyterian), as it is quoted and endorsed by 
Prof. Geo. T. Ladd of Yale University (Congregational). 

" In several places in this book the claim has been made that Christian 
scholars are almost unanimous in their opinion that the Hexateuch is a 
composite composition, an historical development, and therefore cannot 
have been the work of Moses. This claim of scholarly unanimity is 
sometimes disputed in the presence of the Christian multitude. I wish 
therefore to enforce it by quoting the words of Prof. C. A. Briggs (in the 
Presbyteriafi Review for April, 1887, p. 340). ' The critical analysis of 
the Hexateuch,' says this Christian scholar, ' is the result of more than 
a century of profound study of the documents by the greatest critics of 
the age. There has been a steady advance until the present position of 



SCIENCE OF DOCUMENTAR Y ANALYSIS. 25 

agreement has been reached in which Jew and Christian, Roman 
Catholic and Protestant, Rationalistic and Evangelical scholars, Re- 
formed and Lutheran, Presbyterian and Episcopal, Unitarian, Methodist 
and Baptist, all concur. The analysis of the Hexateuch into several dis- 
tinct original documents is a purely literary question in which no article 
of faith is involved. Whoever in these times, in the discussion of the 
literary phenomena of the Hexateuch, appeals to the ignorance and pre- 
judices of the multitude as if there were any peril to the faith in these 
processes of the Higher Criticism, risks his reputation for scholarship by 
so doing. There are no Hebrew professors on the continent of Europe, 
so far as I know, who would deny the literary analysis of the Penta- 
teuch into the four great documents [J. E. P. and D.] The professors 
of Plebrew in the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge and Edinburgh, 
and tutors in a large number of theological colleges, hold the same 
opinion. A very considerable number of the Hebrew professors of 
America are in accord with them. There are, indeed, a few professional 
scholars who hold to the traditional opinion, but these are in a hopeless 
minority. I doubt whether there is any question of scholarship whatever 
in which there is greater agreement among scholars than in this question 
of the literary analysis of the Hexateuch.' "* 

The opinion of scholars is not to take the place of a judg- 
ment made, each man for himself, by the Christian public 
"from the results." But since the right of the analysis to 
appear at all has been challenged, and its credentials de- 
manded, it becomes necessary to quote the above statement 
as one of the facts to be considered a p7-iori. 

* What is the Bible ? p. 486. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Science of Historical Criticism. 

1. A mere separation of Scripture into documents is of 
course very far from securing that appreciation of the liter- 
ature which we have seen to be the purpose and significance 
of BibHcal criticism. If documents are traceable here we 
need to know their character, age, authorship, and mutual re- 
lation ; but above all, their relation to the course of events in 
which their place is to be determined. To do them justice 
we must know the history out of which they sprang and the 
history which grew from them. To make us acquainted with 
this history is an essential part of the purpose of the docu- 
ments themselves. If then we can better appreciate both 
the history itself and the narrative of it by applying to them 
the methods which Niebuhr and Wolf applied to the histo- 
rians of ancient Greece and Rome, and which have since 
been recognized as indispensable to the understanding of all 
historical writings, this will be the truest way to honor the 
Bible and to give it the systematic study of which it is worthy. 
If the results are revolutionary in theology, the revolution 
will be simply the substitution of an inductive method for the 
a priori method of dogmatics, and thus identical in nature 
with that which since the days of Francis Bacon has taken 
place in all other branches of science. 

2. - We do not need to illustrate the methods and success of 
historical criticism, which undertakes the tasks above defined, 
in secular literature. Every intelligent reader is aware that 
historical critics are universally regarded as competent to fix, 
from style, language and thought, from subject-matter and 
relation to external events and to other literature, the date 
and probable authorship of ancient anonymous or pseudony- 
mous documents. But more, we have already seen that it is 

(27) 



28 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

possible to go behind an author and compare his own state- 
ments with his sources. A large part of historical criticism 
is simply cross-examination of a witness, a cross-examina- 
tion not hostile, but friendly, to ascertain how accurate his 
knowledge is, and in what sense and degree of literalness he 
wishes his statements to be taken. Testimony can be cross- 
examined in the absence of the witness by comparison with 
itself, even where no parallel account exists ; but it is charac- 
teristic of the Bible that it presents almost every narrative in 
two-fold, three-fold, even five-fold form. This system of 
cross-examination is now so universally recognized as indis- 
pensable to do justice to all secular history that we may sim- 
ply sum up the facts in the saying of the late historian Von 
Ranke, "There is no history but critical history." 

3. Within the Bible an illustration drawn from the sphere 
in which historical criticism is least effective would be the 
book of Psalms. Prayers, hymns and lyrics adapted for the 
general uses of public worship must of necessity be of a 
character having but little that is distinctive of any one 
epoch. Yet how easy it is to see when once we raise the 
question of date and authorship that Ps. xlii.-xliii. belongs to 
the period of exile in Babylon, and comes from one whose 
"soul is cast down" as he remembers Jerusalem and how 
he " was wont to go up to the house of God with the multi- 
tude that kept holy day !" How meaningless is it if read 
without raising these questions ! If the Psalm-book as a 
whole be considered, as historical criticism suggests, a product 
of the post-exilic period, the single outlet for the old religious 
feeling of the people not yet quenched by priestly ritual in 
the temple, and scribal and pharisaic pettifogging in the syn- 
agogue, what a light does this throw on that dark epoch when 
prophecy seemed extinct and only its germs were slowly 
maturing beneath the soil, to bloom forth at length in the un- 
paralleled glory of the teaching of John the Baptist and of 
Jesus! 

If we turn now to some of the more generally accepted 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 29 

results of historical criticism, we may take as a second illus- 
tration the great anonymous prophecy appended after the 
prose chapters, Is. xxxvi.-xxxix., which terminate the collec- 
tion of prophecies attributed to Isaiah the son of Amoz. A 
traditional theory, now nearly obsolete, considers Is. xl.-lxvi. 
to have been written by the author of Is. i.-xxxix. circ. 720 
B. C, but separately, " as a deep and rich bequest to the church 
of the Exile .... left to be understood in the future." 
In point of fact this bequest would have been incomprehensi- 
ble for nearly two centuries ; for Isaiah lived in the Assyrian 
period, when the long struggle against the foreign invader 
had just culminated in the overthrow of Sennacherib, and Je- 
rusalem was left safe and triumphant. Babylon has yet to 
come into prominence; the Exile is more than a century in 
the future. But every thought and expression of Isaiah xl.- 
lxvi. is inseparably linked with the end of the Babylonian 
Captivity. The author stands behind the " bars of iron and 
gates of brass " (the one-hundred brazen gates of Babylon) 
soon to be broken in sunder by the Redeemer of Israel, and 
hears a voice from the desert that stretches between him and 
Jerusalem, bidding him speak comfort to the exiles and that 
they prepare to get them up from Babylon and return to 
their own land, for Yahweh will lead them back as he led 
their fathers thither. 

" He saith of Jerusalem, She shall be inhabited ; and of the cities of 
Judah, They shall be built, and I will raise up the waste places thereof : 
He saith to the deep, Be dry, and I will dry up thy rivers : He saith of 
Cyrus, He is my shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure ; even say- 
ing of Jerusalem, She shall be built, and to the temple. Thy foundation 
shall be laid. Thus saith Yahweh to his Messiah, to Cyrus, whose right 
hand I have holden, to subdue nations before him, and I Avill loose the 
loins of kings ; to open the doors before him, and the gates shall not be 
shut ; I will go before thee, and make the rugged places plain ; I will 
break in pieces the doors of brass and cut in sunder the bars of iron."* 

There are two ways of accounting for this outburst of wel- 
come from a captive in Babylon to Cyrus as Yahweh's 
messenger to redeem Israel. By assuming a prodigious mir- 
acle, we may suppose that Isaiah the son of Amoz wrote it more 

* Is. xl. I ff. and xliv. 26 ff. 



30 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

than a century before Cyrus was born or the Jews had gone 
into captivity, being miraculously enabled to put himself into 
the situation of the exiled people. This method has the 
merit of justifying the entire accuracy of the scribe who put 
this prophecy upon the same roll of parchment as that con- 
taining the prophecies of Isaiah the son of Amoz. 

Another way regards the mention of Cyrus, the allusions to 
Jerusalem as "burnt with fire," and to the people as in cap- 
tivity in Babylon, from whence they are now to be delivered, 
as indications of the period in which the prophecy was 
actually written. This latter, which is the method of histori- 
cal criticism, is not so wonderful as the other, and admits the 
possibility that the inclusion of these chapters without sepa- 
rate title after Is. xxxix. was due to mistake, but it claims to 
treat the Scriptures with at least equal respect, and has the 
advantage of throwing a glory of meaning into this last and 
noblest fruit of the prophetic spirit which it could not other- 
wise possess. At the same time it displays to us the inner 
workings of divine providence at the critical period when the 
question was. Shall Jerusalem be rebuilt, or shall Judah also 
pass into oblivion as Ephraim did, and the treasures of He- 
brew religious life and literature remain forever buried in 
the mounds of Mesopotamia. Thus understood we recognize 
in Is. xl.-lxvi. not merely the swan-song of the ancient pro- 
phetic spirit, but the clarion-call which summons into being 
tl>e " faithful seed " from which is to come forth a new Israel, 
a new Jerusalem, and at last a Kingdom of God. 

4. Aside from these mere excerpts we cannot better 
describe what historical criticism has done for biblical litera- 
ture and history than by a brief review of its treatment of 
that mass of material which has come down to us as the 
Pentateuch Narrative. This material, when coordinated and 
systematized, will give us (a) a rational conception of the con- 
tinuous working of God in the providential events of Israel's 
career ; (b) a view in perspective of the gradually enlarging 
apprehension of this working of God in their history which 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 31 

filled the minds of Israel's teachers and writers. We shall 
scarcely be able to find God in the Bible until we find him 
there in these two ways, in the events which he decreed, and 
in the minds which he enlightened. Biblical archaeology is 
of value for the former, but historical criticism is indispensa- 
ble for the latter.* 

Historical criticism we understand then to be a loyal response 
to the distinct summons of the Scriptures themselves to go 
behind the letter and beneath the surface, distinguishing be- 
tween the testimony and the facts testified to, between the 
mere literature and the sources and causes, material and 
spiritual, human and divine, which gave rise to it; even as 
Paul himself warns us not to be blind supporters of this name 
or that, but to count both him and Apollos "ministers 
through whom ye believed." Above all is this discrimination 
inculcated by our Lord in his rebuke to the scribes and phar- 
isees for their servile clinging to the letter of the Scriptures. 
" Ye search the Scriptures because ye think that in them ye 
have eternal life ; and they are they which testify of me; but 
ye would not come unto me that ye might have life."f Be 
it our task then to draw as near as may be to the mind of the 
writers, and ask what it is that has affected them. And 
first we must obtain, so far as may be through brief ex- 
planation and illustration, a general outline of the method 
and theory of historical criticism within the domain of the 
Hexateuch. We turn then to the two great classes of evi- 
dence which criticism relies on for its fundamental inquiry 
as to date and authorship. 

5. External evidence may be conclusive of the date of a 
writing so far as regards the terminus a quo or fixed point of 
departure in the backward tracing of a document. Thus the 

* An excellent synopsis of the progress of the science in recent times will be found 
in Prof. O. Pfleiderer's Developftient of Theology^ New York, Macmillan and Co., 
1890. Book III., ch. II. The Histories of Israel by Wellhausen and Renan, already 
quoted, the articles Israel and Pentateuch in Encyc. Brit. ed. ix. and The Religion 
of Israel hy A. Kuenen, London, Williams and Norgate, 1874, are all accessible to 
the English reader, beside " Introductions " and minor works innumerable. 

tjohn V. 39f. (R. v.) 



32 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

quotations from Matthew in the " Teaching of the Twelve 
Apostles" positively establish the existence of Matthew in 
the early part of the 2d century ; and the LXX. version proves 
the existence of the Pentateuch in nearly its present shape in 
the third century B. C. But as to the terminus ad qiceiji ex- 
ternal evidence is not conclusive. We can by no means argue 
that Matthew did not exist in the year 90 A. D. because Clem- 
ent of Rome does not use it. The mere silence of authors 
from Ezra down would not prove that Matthew was not writ- 
ten in 500 B. C. Neither can we establish the non-existence 
of the Pentateuch from the mere fact, if fact it be, that none 
of the prophets allude to it. Such arguments e silentio are 
only of force when a strong independent probability can be 
established that the writers would have used it, or would at 
least have expressed themselves otherwise than they did, if 
they had known of it. 

Under external evidence must be included traditional 
views of date and authorship. Tradition which can be traced 
back to a period wherein men might be supposed to know 
the date and authorship would be very valuable, especially if 
there were no other way of accounting for the origin of the 
tradition than to regard its statements as fact. The tradi- 
tion, for example, attributing the origin of the second gospel 
to John-Mark gains very much in weight from the difficulty 
of accounting for an untrue tradition fixing upon so obscure 
a character rather than the prominent one which popular 
rumor usually prefers. If, on the other hand, the tradition 
cannot be traced to a period competent to know, but is of a 
piece with numerous other traditions known to be worthless, 
and is easily accounted for, it will have scarcely any weight 
at all. 

It is true that certain supporters of the Mosaic authorship 
of the Pentateuch have attempted to introduce a tertium quid 
of the nature neither of external nor internal evidence, by 
excepting the utterances of our Lord from the general class 
of tradition and exalting them into a kind of dogmatic or 
doctrinal argument. If our Lord had ever expressed an 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 33 

opinion for or against the critical theory we should indeed be 
obliged to take sides either with those who should deny his 
competency to judge, and insist upon drawing their own con- 
clusions in literary criticism, or else with those who should 
hold that the ipse dixit of Jesus forbade all critical investiga- 
tion as impious. The modem attempt to occupy both posi- 
tions at once is irrational. Fortunately there is no such des- 
perate alternative presented. The dogmatic argument has 
no relevancy whatever, for Jesus expressed no opinion in the 
case. The fact that Jesus in quoting from the Pentateuch 
referred the citation to " Moses " proves simply that the books 
were called then, as they are now, "the Books of Moses." It 
shows that the tradition of Mosaic authorship was then un- 
questioned, which we knew before, and that Jesus would not 
precipitate discussion of such a question, which we might 
have known before. We must decline to stake the authority 
of Jesus Christ on a question of literary criticism. 

The second line of critical evidence is internal. If exter- 
nal evidence is conclusive of the terminus a quo in the question 
of date, internal evidence is in exactly the same degree con- 
clusive as to the termimis ad quetn. If the quotations from 
Matthew in the Didache are external evidence positively 
proving that Matthew existed before the Didache, they are 
internal evidence for the Didache proving with equal posi- 
tiveness that the Didache, at least in these parts, did not exist 
until after Matthew. By means of internal evidence it is 
almost always easy to detect a forgery, as none but the most 
finished scholar could possibly construct even the briefest 
document which would not by some anachronism in style, 
language, subject-matter, or mode of treatment, betray an 
acquaintance with matters occurring subsequently to its sup- 
posed origin. 

Internal evidence however is capable of furnishing far 
more, as we have already seen, than merely data from which 
to determine date and authorship. The writer of a docu- 
ment is the best teacher from whom to learn its purpose and 
character, and, although rarely in ancient times announcing 
3 



34 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

his own authorship, can yet be made a willing witness upon 
questions of interpretation (whether as legend, myth, allegory 
or simple fact) and the degree of literalness with which the 
statements of the document are meant to be received. 

6. As we enter now upon the consideration of the general 
argument and theory of the historical criticism of the Penta- 
teuch, the reader who does not wish to know even in outline 
what the character of the evidence is which leads critics to a 
practically unanimous decision against Mosaic authorship, is 
invited to skip the pages which follow. For the sake of those 
who wish to know the outline and basis of that theory, we will 
attempt briefly to illustrate and explain the character of the 
evidence, beginning with tradition. 

The Talmud, from which we have already quoted an im- 
portant passage on this question (p. 19 ), is explicit in attrib- 
uting the Pentateuch to Moses ; but not the Pentateuch only. 
Job also is assigned to Moses.* Josephusf likewise ascribes 
the Pentateuch to Moses including the last eight verses 
describing his own death. So also Philo. | 

These witnesses from the first century confirm the evidence 
from the New-Testament of the existence of the tradition. 
They also shed light upon the character of it. But if desired 
we can trace the tradition a step farther back, and obtain still 
more light upon its character. 

The Apocalypse of Ezra is an apocryphal book frequently 
printed in the English Bible under the title of II Esdras, 
and dating from the first century A. D. Readers who find it 
accessible are referred to II Esdras xiv. 19-46 for the tradi- 
tion of Mosaic (?) authorship in full, in the form in which it 
was adopted by the Christian fathers Clement of Alexandria, 
Tertullian, Chrysostom, in pseud- Augustine, and the Clem- 
entine Homilies. This tradition represents that the law (Pen- 
tateuch) and all the holy books were burnt at the destruction 

*For a description of these mediaeval opinions the reader is referred to Prof. 
Briggs, Biblical Study, pp. 173-180. 
t Antiquities, IV. 8, 48. 
% Life of Moses, III. 39. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 35 

of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar. Ezra miractilously restored 
them all, composing also others. In the words of Clement of 
Alexandria : 

" Since the Scriptures perished in the Captivity of Nebuchadnezzar, 
Esdras the Levite, the priest, in the time of Artaxerxes, king of the 
Persians, having become inspired in the exercise of prophecy, restored 
again the whole of the ancient Scriptures." * 

Another form of the same tradition adopted by Irenseus, 
Theodoret, Basil, Jerome, and later Christian writers, repre- 
sents the "restoration" of Ezra to have been a "recasting of 
all the words of the former prophets " and a " reestablishment " 
of the Mosaic legislation. Carrying back the tradition thus to 
the earliest form in which it is directly stated it becomes a 
difficult matter indeed to say whether tradition is more favor- 
able to the so-called "traditional" view, or to the critical 
theory which attributes to Ezra and the later scribes the in- 
corporation of the priestly element P into the Hexateuch 
and the recasting of the whole. A scientific judgment of the 
character of the tradition however, must simply classify it 
with a mass of similar traditions which attribute Samuel, 
Judges and Ruth to Samuel, Kings to Jeremiah, and the 
Psalms to " David with the aid of the ten ancients, Adam the 
first, Melchizedek, Abraham, Moses, Heman, Jeduthun, 
Asaph, and the three sons of Korah." In other words there 
is nothing to recommend it as anything more than an a priori 
assumption of the crudest kind on the part of the scribes. 

But external evidence for the existence of the tradition 
and of the Pentateuch as a whole may be traced still earlier. 
Allusions in the books of Chronicles, Nehemiah and Ezra to 
the Book of the Law of Moses, are admitted to refer to our 
present Pentateuch and furnish evidence perhaps a little 
earlier than the LXX. Further back it is not possible to go ; 
for the work now divided into First and Second Chronicles, 
Ezra and Nehemiah mentions Darius Codomannus {T^^d 
B. C), and brings down its genealogies to a still later date. 
Earlier allusions to the law of Moses cannot be shown to refer 

* Stromata i. 22. 



36 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

to more than some one of the codes now incorporated in the 
Pentateuch, and there attributed to him. There is therefore 
no disposition in any quarter to deny the fact that the Penta- 
teuch, approximately in its present shape, existed circ. 300 
B. C, and was then attributed, by a more or less rational 
tradition, in a more or less direct sense, to Moses. More 
than this can scarcely be drawn in favor of the traditional 
date and authorship from external evidence. 

If there is internal evidence for Mosaic authorship beside 
the passages attributing, as has been shown, certain sources to 
Moses, it is of too general and desultory a character to be 
taken into serious consideration; for the book itself, like all 
the ancient historical books, is simply anonymous.* 

7. We turn with some dismay to the mass of evidence 
both external and internal accumulated by historical criti- 
cism against the traditional view. External evidence as we 
have already seen partakes necessarily of the weakness of an 
argumentum e silentio when we depart from the terminus a quo 
or date before which it must have existed (viz., 300 B. C.) and 
seek a terminus ad queni before which it cannot have existed. 
Here we find ourselves at once confronted with masses of 
evidence derived from both the history and the literature of 
Israel from the time of Moses, 1320 B. C, to the time of Ezra 
450 B. C. to prove, e silentio, that before Ezra the Pentateuch 
as we have it was not in existence, or at least not known to 
any one of all those whom we should expect to be most 
familiar with it. 

The force of this evidence will depend upon the degree of 
probability with which it can be established that these per- 
sons would have acted differently, or written differently, 
from the way in which they did act, and write, if they had 
known our Pentateuch. This external evidence divides itself 
therefore into evidence from the history, and evidence from 

* The degree of familiarity with Egyptian customs evidenced in Gen. 1. i ff. and 
other passages is so easily attributable to any fairly well-informed writer of the 
period of the monarchy, that none but a special pleader would think of advancing 
it as evidence. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 37 

the literature. We can do no more than briefly summarize 
both. 

The history admittedly presents no agreement with the 
requirements of the Pentateuch, even in the case of the most 
earnest zealots for Yahweh and the greatest reformers, from 
the period of Moses down to that of Ezra. The contrast be- 
tween the history as it was, and the history as it would have 
been if the actors had been guided by the "law of Moses" 
according to the Pentateuch, is brought out very vividly by 
the post-exilic book of Chronicles, which re-writes the history 
of the pre-exilic books of Samuel and Kings, omitting and 
amending so as to bring the history into conformity with the 
ritual law. A comparison in detail exhibiting the system by 
which the chronicler proceeds can be found in Wellhausen's 
History of Israel, chap. vi. For the present we can only 
ask the reader to compare the story of the rebellion against 
Athaliah as it appears in II. Kings xi. 4-12, heedless of all 
the elaborate provisions of the Levitical law against the 
entrance of any save a consecrated foot into the house of 
Yahweh, and the same story in II. Chron. xxiii. amended by 
the substitution of the Levites for the king's body-guard of 
mercenaries. The example is characteristic of the way in 
which Chronicles fills out the unbroken silence of the older 
historical books in regard to the whole vast Levitical system 
and Aaronic hierarchy, with its elaborate ritual and centralized 
worship, and brings into conformity with the Levitical system 
the actions of David, Samuel, Elijah and other devout char- 
acters, who in Samuel and Kings act as if they never had 
heard of the Pentateuch or the ritual law. As a further 
illustration of the contrast between the early and the late 
religious praxis the reader may compare the worship and 
ritual at the primitive temple at Shiloh, where Eli and his 
sons are the priests and the little Ephraimite (not Levite) boy 
Samuel, clad with the ephod, performs the service of the sanc- 
tuary "before Yahweh," lies down to sleep ^^ in the temple of 
Yahweh where the ark of God was " before " the lajnp of God was 
gone out" (cf. Lev. xxiv. 1-4), and "opens the doors of the 



38 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

house of Yahweh in the morning," I. Sam. i.-iv., with the 
elaborate provisions of the Levitical code, consigning the 
care and even the sight of the most holy things exclusively 
to the house of Aaron and of the holy things to the Levites,, 
with the injunction, Num. i. 51, '' the stranger that cometh 
nigh shall be put to death." To take the post-exilic testi- 
mony of Chronicles in preference to that of its acknowledged 
sources, from 400 to 600 years earlier in date, reverses every 
principle of common sense. We have no alternative but 
to assume that the Pentateuch as we know it, was not in 
existence, or that it was unknown to men like Samuel^ 
David, Elijah, and Isaiah, who could not voluntarily have so 
completely ignored and transgressed its most emphatic re- 
quirements, as in the earlier historical books they are uni- 
formly related to have done. Upholders of tradition have, of 
course, preferred the latter, assuming a disappearance of the 
Pentateuch for ages, and subsequent re-discovery. In con- 
nection vv^ith the explanation of the critical treatment of 
Deuteronomy we shall meet again this assumption, and hence 
at present will confine ourselves to the above setting-forth 
of the indisputable fact that the history, from Joshua to the 
Exile, completely ignores the Levitical law. It should be 
observed, however, that the immense presumption against 
the accidental reappearance of a book lost for more than 
six centuries makes it incumbent upon the propounders of 
the theory to show reason for its acceptance. The Levitical 
law is a system of elaborately developed ritual worship, cen- 
tralized about the inner shrine of the temple of Jerusalem, 
which itself is regarded as simply a copy of a portable temple 
or " tabernacle " of the previous epoch, unknown, however, to 
the pre-exilic writers. Concentric circles of sanctity, which 
it is death for the unprivileged to cross, surround the Holy of 
holies, holy-place, and successive temple courts, and elaborate 
ritual prescriptions make the temple, its service and its hier- 
archy, the all-absorbing, all-controlling interest of the nation. 
The older history knows nothing whatever of this ; worship 
is free and untrammeled. Prophets, kings, and common 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 39 

people build altars at any place to offer sacrifice with entire 
acceptance. There is simply no thought or mention what- 
ever of the Levitical requirements, the breach of which in 
the least degree in the Pentateuch is visited with instant 
death. Every man approaches God freely and spontaneously 
where he chooses or where he happens to be. The sanc- 
tuaries are numerous, but very simple and unpretentious, 
and open to all the people. The people worship Yahweh 
"upon every high hill and under every green tree ;" but the 
surprising thing is not this, which is admitted to be true, and 
might be accounted for on the theory of rebellion and 
degeneracy, but that this worship is regarded as entirely 
acceptable to God by the older historians and equally so 
by all the greatest reformers down to the time of Josiah.* 

8. We turn to the external evidence from the literature of 
the period in which the Levitical law now incorporated in the 
Pentateuch and forming by far the largest part of " the law 
of Moses " as there presented, is supposed to have existed. 
The authors of the older historical literature, as we have 
seen, simply ignore this ritual system. These, however, are 
less important than the writings of the prophets, which by 
way of exception in Semitic literature have both the author's 
name and date prefixed,! and which bring into broad day- 
light the religious life of the people both in Ephraim and 
Judah throughout nearly three centuries preceding the Exile. 

* Observe I. Kings iii. 4-15 in contrast with II. Chron. i. 1-13 ; also, Elijah's ct>;«- 
^/ai'«^ to God at Horeb. "They have thrown down thine altars," I. Kings xix. 10, 
14. All these altars, according to the Pentateuch and the later literature, were an 
abomination, to destroy which was piety. 

t "This remark [the law of anonymity] applies with full force onb/ to works like 
the Historical Books, which were products of the study, and did not derive their 
value from their connection with the author's public life. It is not equally appli- 
cable to lyric poetry, where, as in the case of David's elegy on Saul and Jonathan, 
the interest of the poem frequently depends on the authorship. Least of all could 
the law of anonymity apply to the written collections of the sermons of the pro- 
phets, which were summaries of a course of public activity in which the personality 
of the prophet could not be separated from his words. Thus, while the historical 
books are habitually anonymous, and poetical pieces only sometimes bear an 
author's name, it is the rule that each group of prophecies, and often each indivi- 
dual oracle, has the name of the author attached." W. Robertson Smith, Old 
Testa7nent in Jewish Churchy 108. 



40 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

The first trace of an allusion to anything contained in the 
priestly legislation of the Pentateuch, or to the existence of 
any ordinance of Moses concerning ritual, will be searched 
for in vain throughout the writings of the pre-exilic prophets. 

This argttmentum e silentio is met by the explanation that the 
specific work of the prophets led them to exalt the ethical 
feature of the law at the expense of the ritual, and indeed 
we should by no means ignore the contrast in function be- 
tween the prophet and priest. Both were teachers of the 
people, the priest however being the interpreter and mouth- 
piece of the ritual law (Ez. xliv. 23!), and the prophet 
usually taking a more generally ethical ground. Both " sat 
in Moses' seat " as trustees of the national inheritance of law 
and custom, but their relations were far from antagonistic, as 
the friendship of Isaiah with Uriah the chief priest sufficiently 
shows. Several of the later prophets, including both Jere- 
miah and Ezekiel, were at the same time priests as well as 
prophets, and Ezekiel devotes all the latter part of his book 
to the construction of an elaborate ritual system. Neverthe- 
less in weighing the evidential force of the silence of the 
prophets on this subject full consideration must be given to 
the peculiarly ethical work of prophetism in general. 

It is not, however, upon this mere silence that historical 
criticism depends for its external evidence. It is claimed 
that the repeated expressions of these writers are such as to 
make it absolutely insupposable that they knew the Penta- 
teuch, or had ever heard of the enactment of an elaborate 
ritual law by Moses. More explicit language, for example, 
than that of Jeremiah vii. 2 iff. could scarcely be expected. 

"Thus saith Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel: Add your burnt 
offerings unto your sacrifices, and eat ye flesh. For I spake not unto 
your fathers, nor commanded them in the day that I brought them out 
of the land of Egypt, concerning burnt offerings or sacrifices : but this 
thing I commanded them, saying, Hearken unto my voice, and I will be 
your God, and ye shall be my people : and walk ye in all the way that I 
command you, that it may be well with you." 

An appeal to the public to say whether any such law was 
ever given will perhaps be even stronger testimony, especially 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 41 

if it be made in the name of Yahweh himself. Such an 
appeal the critics find in Amos v. 2 iff., where the period of 
the wilderness- wandering is spoken of as a time of special 
manifestation of Yahweh's favor (so, frequently, in the Pss. 
and prophets, cf. Hos. xi. iff., xiii. 4!, etc.), and the question 
asked whether then there was any of this sacrificing and ritual 
observance. The reader of the Pentateuch of to-day would 
be inclined to call that the period of sacrifice and ritual par 
excellence. 

"I hate, I despise your feasts, and I will take no delight in your 
solemn assemblies. Yea, though ye offer me your burnt offerings and 
meat offerings, I will not accept them : neither will I regard the peace 
offerings of your fat beasts. Take thou away from me the noise of thy 
songs ; for I will not hear the melody of thy viols. But let judgment roll 
down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream. Did ye bring 
unto me sacrifices and offermgs in the wilderness forty years, O house pf 
Israel ? 

Equally plain is the noble appeal in Micah vi. 6-8 : — 

" Wherewith shall I come before Yahweh, and bow myself before the 
high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of 
a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with 
ten thousands of rivers of oil ? shall I give my firstborn for my trans- 
gression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed 
thee, O man, what is good : and what doth Yahweh require of thee, but 
to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?" 

Isaiah i. iif. demands to know on what authority ritual ob- 
servances are practised : — 

" To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me, saith 
Yahweh : I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed 
beasts ; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he- 
goats. When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at 
your hand, to trample my courts?" 

One might indeed reconcile with a knowledge of the 
Pentateuch utterances of the prophets deprecating the too 
great regard paid to ritual, and urging as of equal or greater 
importance the " weightier matters of the law ;" but how can 
it be supposed that the authors of these appeals to know when 
and where Yahweh had ever authorized anything of the 
kind, were aware of the existence of a Mosaic law, nine-tenths 
of which were devoted to inculcating this very thing in the 



42 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

most explicit terms as of immediate divine authority, and 
with the imposition of most fearful penalties for its neglect. 
Can we suppose that Jeremiah and Isaiah knew of this body 
of law ? And if Jeremiah and Isaiah and those they appealed 
to knew nothing of it, who did ? Such are the questions an 
examination of the external evidence brings. Whether or no 
such facts are compatible with the traditionary view, or are 
susceptible of explanation, the reader himself must judge. 

We need add but one more piece of external evidence to do 
justice to the case of historical criticism in this department, 
although of course the presentation here made is a mere 
abstract. Some of the most important evidence for the date 
of codification of the ritual law is found in the book of Ezekiel. 
Here we have a prophet of the Exile planning for the recon- 
struction of the nation after its return. Ezekiel was both 
prophet and priest. The last part of his book is an elaborate 
ritual system devised on a purely ideal foundation, but of 
course far less elaborate than the Pentateuchal provisions. 
Was he aware of the existence of a Mosaic code covering in 
greater detail than his the whole ground of his code, or did 
he think of superseding it by his own ? If Ezekiel knew 
nothing of it, who knew of it ? 

It is the attempt to answer these questions which has 
driven nearly all Old Testament scholars to abandon the idea 
of the Pentateuch ritual code as a revelation to Moses fixed 
for all subsequent time in all its detail, and substituted that 
of a growth whose roots go back in the consu.etudinary law 
and traditional practise of the sanctuary for an indefinite 
period previous to the Exile, but whose codification began at 
the same time and for the same reasons as Ezekiel's code. 

9. We have seen why from the nature of the case external 
evidence can furnish only an argument from silence, when 
we seek a date before which a writing cannot have existed. 
This argument from silence admits of being strengthened 
almost indefinitely by the establishing of a probabilit)^ that if 
a book had been in existence it would have been known to 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 43 

the authors consulted, and they in consequence would have 
used it, referred to it, or at least have written or acted in 
some way differently from what they did. Still it is neces- 
sarily internal evidence, exactly complementary to external, 
which can alone definitely fix a date before which a writing- 
cannot have existed. Even here however we may escape the 
conclusion if we are willing to assume a miracle in support 
of Rabbinic tradition.* 

In reply to this nothing can be said except to grant to all 
to whom this method of meeting difficulties is satisfactory 
that internal evidence is powerless before it. Supposing, 
however, that there are some to whom this short and easy 
method with the critics will not be satisfactory, we will 
briefly refer to some of the best-known phenomena of the 
Pentateuch which may be termed the post-Mosaica j clauses 
which cannot be severed from the text except by resorting, 
as in the case of Deut. xxxiv. 5-12, to the very process of 
analysis denounced by the traditionary school, passages for 
which, nevertheless, it is necessary to assume a miracle to 
attribute them to Moses. As our purpose is merely illustra- 
tive, the following must be regarded not as a complete list, 
but as examples of a class : — 

Gen. xxxvi. 31, " Before there reigned any king over the children of 
Israel," on critical principles would imply authorship subsequent to the 
establishment of the monarchy ; Gen. xl. 15, "the land of the Hebrews ;" 
Gen. xii. 6b, xiii. 7b and a series of passages implying that the Canaan- 
ites in the author's day had long disappeared, brings down the date to 
the period subsequent to Solomon (I. Kings ix. 16, 2of.) Deut. ii. 12 
refers explicitly to Israel's having driven out the Canaanites and taken 
full possession of the land. "The Horites dwelt there beforetime, but 
the children of Esau succeeded them ; and they destroyed them from 
before them, and dwelt in their stead, as Israel did ttjtto the land of 
his possession which Yahweh gave tmto thejn." Deut. xix. 14 for- 
bids the removal of ' ' thy neighbor's landmark which I hey of old titne 
have set." Passages like Gen. xxxv. 20, "The same is the pillar of 

* C£. Briggs' Bibl. Study, p. iSS, a quotation from the commentary of Wm. Gouge, 
an honored puritan divine, who meets the objections to the Davidic authorship of 
all the psalms, and in particular, " Objection 5— The cxxxviith Psalm doth set down 
the disposition and carriage of the Israelites in the Babylonish Captivity, which 
was six hundred forty years after David's time, and the cxxvith Psalm sets out 
their return from that Captivity. Ans. — To grant these to be so, yet might David 
pen those psalms ; for, by a prophetical spirit, he might foresee what would fall out, 
and answerably pen Psalms fit thereunto." 



44 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

Rachel's grave unto this day ;" Deut. iii. ii, " Behold his bedstead was 
a bedstead of iron ; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon ?" 
with Gen. xxxii. 22 and Deut. x. 8 ("unto this day "), point to mementos 
and institutions of antiquity to which the reader is referred. Num. 
xxiv. 7 alludes to Agag, cf. I. Sam. xv. 33. The psalm, Ex. xv. 1-17, 
refers in vv. 13 and 17 to the temple — " Thou hast guided them in thy 
strength to thy holy habitation ;" and, " Thou shalt bring them in and 
plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance, 

The place, O Yahweh, which thou hast made for thee to dwell in, 
The sanctuary, O Yahweh, which thy hands have established." 
See also Num. xii. 3 and Deut. xxxiv. 10. 

A second class of post-Mosaica are the references to position. 
The Pentateuch writer or writers use invariably the stereo- 
typed expressions for north, south, east and west, which, 
nevertheless, have no significance except for a dweller in 
Palestine. Thus south is literally, "iV"<?^^(^-ward," i. e. toward 
the desert of Beersheba ; west is "sea-ward," i. e. toward the 
Mediterranean. The expression "beyond Jordan" is fre- 
quently accompanied by " toward the sunrising," and is always 
shown by the context to mean eastward, whereas to Moses 
"beyond Jordan " would be west. 

Passing over the argument from the indications of progres- 
sive development in the Pentateuchal codes, which, although 
considered by many the strongest evidence for the critical 
theory, is of too technical a nature for a popular treatise, we 
reluctantly turn to a department of the evidence which 
cannot be ignored, but which from its very nature is obnoxious 
to all for whom the religious value of the book is inseparable 
from historical accuracy in describing the events of the 
remote past. No small part of the proof deduced from the 
Pentateuch of its origin from traditionary sources centuries 
after the events it narrates is the alleged impossibility, and 
hence historical inaccuracy of its representations. This most 
thankless task of all criticism, a purely negative work, but 
one which, like the clearing away of unsound material, must 
necessarily precede the building of a trustworthy structure 
upon the actual phenomena of the documents, was taken up 
by Colenso, Bishop of Natal, in Part I. of his " Pentateuch and 
Book of Joshua critically examined^''* and carried through 

*New York, D. Appleton and Co., 1863. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 45 

as unflinchingly as the surgeon wields the knife against 
disease. We can only refer to an instance or two from the 
period of Moses himself. 

The enormous numbers of the Israelites who came out of 
Egypt (600,000 armed men, beside non-combatants), are not 
due to textual errors, because they are again and again re- 
iterated, verified by repeated footings and that in two com- 
plete censuses, besides agreeing with many of the representa- 
tions of the story itself. Colenso proceeded to show that they 
are not only incompatible with the account of the 70 persons 
who four getierations before had come into Egypt, but make 
the account of the Exodus incredible. To mobilize an army 
of "600,000 armed men " in a single night, Ex. xii. syff., is an 
incredible feat, even if we leave entirely out of account the 
women and children, the aged and infirm, the " mixed multi- 
tude " and the "flocks and herds." But supposing all this 
done, and the whole company, numbering necessarily be- 
tween two and three million, provided with the "tents," we 
find them immediately after (Ex. xvi. 16) occupying, and all 
other necessary paraphernalia, including the riches required 
for the tabernacle, why should 600,000 armed men who "went 
up in battle array out of Egypt" (Ex. xiii. 18), run away 
from Pharaoh, or cry out for fear of the detachment of troops 
sent in pursuit? Why need an "armed force" ten times 
as numerous as the entire allied army at Waterloo submit to 
intolerable oppression ? And how could the petty desert 
tribe of Amalekites hold them in check and for a consider- 
able time " prevail " against them, Ex. xvii. 8ff. ? 

Again ; the human millions are supported by manna in the 
" waste howling wilderness," but what supported the great 
numbers of cattle and flocks and herds of which we hear 
repeatedly ? If they had these " flocks and herds " why did 
they complain of having no flesh to eat, and twice require a 
miracle to provide it, Ex. xvi. 1-14, Num xi. 4-35 ? If they 
did not have them, whence came the innumerable beasts for 
sacrifice carefully specified, and the passover lambs for 40 
successive years required, Ex. xii. 5, to be males of the first 
year? 



46 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

Again, the male Levites at the first census, Num. iii. 39, 
were 22,000 ; thirty-eight years afterward. Num. xxvi. 62, 
23,000. But in Moses* own generation (Ex, vi. i6ff.) there 
were only sixteen all told. These 23,000 Levites were sub- 
stituted for 22,273 first-born males of all Israel (Num. iii. 43). 
If we make the total male population only 900,000 (600,000 
bore arms) every mother in Israel must then have had at 
least 42 male children. 

Other objections of Colenso are of a more general character. 
Any intelligent person may gain a fair conception of them by 
simply reading the passages referred to (e. g. Num. xxxi.) 
and asking himself from time to time, " What does this nar- 
rative imply ?" 

This is indeed purely negative criticism ; but its object is 
not destruction of the records as is often supposed. Negative 
criticism must be considered part of the evidence tending to 
show whether the history is that of eyewitnesses or more or 
less distorted by tradition. We turn, nevertheless, with 
satisfaction from the negative to the constructive side of 
historical criticism. 

10. The central position of the science as regards the 
Hexateuch is the date 620 B. C. for the code of Deuteronomy. 
The argument for this is a volume in itself. In the treatise 
of DeWette, entitled Dissertatio Critica, 1805, Deuteronomy 
was identified with the " Book of the Law " or "Teaching" 
{toi-aJi) found by Hilkiah in the temple under Josiah, who 
made it the basis for a revolution in the religious history of 
Israel. It is this religious revolution which, more completely 
even than the Exile itself, divides the history into two dis- 
tinct epochs. The story of this discovery and great reform 
is related at length in II. Kings xxii., xxiii., and the origin of 
Deuteronomy as an attempt to formulate the torah of Moses, 
as then understood, at a period not long previous to 620 has, 
since DeWette, acquired the force of an axiom among critics. 
The briefest possible resume' of external and internal evidence 
is all that we can allow ourselves. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 47 

The book brought forward by Hilkiah is positively identi- 
fied as the Deuteronomic Code (Deuteronomy without the 
historical introduction and appendix which frame it in to the 
Hexateuch story), and not the whole Pentateuch. The testi- 
mony of Jeremiah and Ezekiel already adduced precludes 
from the point of view of criticism the supposition that this 
book contained the ritual law, for ignorance cannot be pleaded 
in their case. The conduct of Josiah is equally conclusive. 
But further, the book was so short that Shaphan could read 
it aloud "before the king," II. Kings xxii. lo, and the king 
"///^ whole of it" before the people, xxiii. 2. (Cf. the reading 
of the Pentateuch for a whole week, Neh. viii. 2-18). It was 
in the form of a "covenant" (xxiii. 2 and 21, "this book of 
the covenant," cf. Dt. xxix. i), and was distinguished by 
fearful curses (xxii. 11-20; cf. Dt. xxvii. 11 — xxviii. 68). 
Finally its contents may fairly be inferred from II. Kings 
xxiii. 1-24, which relates in detail the innovations Josiah 
undertook after pledging himself to carry out the reforms 
demanded by the book discovered. The whole chapter 
relates simply how Josiah proceeds step by step to carry out 
the requirements of the Deuteronomic Code. Thus 



II. Kings 

e ^ . 


xxiii 


7 
9 
10 
II 
14 
21 
24 

• J 


carries 


out Dt. xxiii., 7f 
" " xviii. 8. 
" " xviii. ID. 
" " xvii. 3. 
" " xvi. 2lf. 
" " xvi. 5. 
" " xviii. II 



Further evidence for the identity of the book appears in the 
fact that it demanded some great and radical reform to 
justify the language of II. Kings xxii. 13, "Great is the 
wrath of Yahweh that is kindled against us, because our 
fathers have not hearkened unto the words of this book to do 
according unto all that which is written concerning us," and 
that of xxiii, 22, which extends the period during which no 
such requirements had been observed, back to the time of 
Joshua. What this radical reform was we shall soon see. 
For the present the external evidence of the case is clear to 



48 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

the critic. It was the Deuteronomic Code and nothing else, so 
far as external evidence can show it, which was brought 
forward by Hilkiah in the year 620 B. C. The statements of 
II. Kings are explicit and unanswerable that previous to that 
time neither the book nor all of its requirements had been 
known for an indefinite period. The question at once arises, 
How old was it ? In what sense, and on what grounds, was 
it called *' the Book of the Law ?"* On this point also we may 
learn something from the narrative in II. Kings. 

An}^ one acquainted with ancient MSS. will be inclined to 
say at once, in answer to the query as to age, " Not very old." 
If for no other reason, then because only a trained expert can 
read MSS. of a few centuries back, on account of changes in 
chirography and language ; but further, because Oriental 
MSS. are written with ink which fades and becomes illegible 
with dampness, and no MS. can be supposed to have survived, 
withoiit care, the repeated pillaging of the temple, and the 
extraordinary vicissitudes of the ark in the ruined temple of 
Shiloh (Jer. vii. 12, 14, xxvi. 6, 9), in battle, among the Philis- 
tine cities, in the house of Obed-Edom, and among the 
peasants of Beth-shemesh. To suppose that the Book of the 
Torah which Shaphan claimed to have found in the temple was 
the actual autograph of Moses referred to in Dt. xxxi. 24ff., is 
perhaps what the author of Dt. xxxi. 24!?. thought and in- 
tended ; but in order to accept his opinion as true and com- 
petent, it will be necessary to assume a prodigious miracle. 
Let us see what means the finders resorted to, to ascertain 
the origin and authority of the book. The story is short. 
They did not trouble themselves at all about its origin, but a 
delegation took it to " Huldah the prophetess, the wife of 
Shallum, the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the 
wardrobe," who returned the very practical answer that what 
the book required ought to be done. It was "good law;" 
beyond this point none seemed to think it necessary to go. 
So far as the external evidence goes, in the story of the dis- 
covery, and aside from the practical difficulties in the way of 

* Observe that it is nowhere in the story attributed to Moses. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 49 

supposing- an extremely ancient MS., Shaphan's " Book of the 
Torah " might equally well have been an autograph of Moses, 
or a mere recent embodiment of the traditional "teaching" 
as understood by the prophets and priests of the period, the 
prophets being, according to the book itself, Deut. xviii. 15-22, 
the authorized custodians and interpreters of this "Torah." 
Or again, it might be neither of these extremes, but, as critics 
suggest, an expansion and modification (fully within the 
legitimate province of the prophet) of a Torah of Moses codi- 
fied from the traditional form at least a century before. Such 
a Torah unquestionably existed, was attributed to Moses, and 
is now incorporated as " The Book of the Covenant " in Ex. 
XX. — xxiv.* 

The external evidence of Scripture narrative, therefore, 
simply determines the year 620 for the terminus a quo of 
Deuteronomy, and throws open, for determination upon 
internal evidence, the question how much further back this 
" Book of the Torah " can be carried in its present form (the 
form described in II. Kings). 

II. We need not long delay upon the post-Mosaica. In 
addition to the brief phrases adduced on page 43, we may cite 

Dt. iv. 38, "To give thee the land as it is this day ^'' 

and the use of " Dan " for Laish, xxxiv. i (cf. Jud. xviii. 29.) 
More particular attention, however, is called to the general 
character of the legislation. It is adapted to the wants, and 
assumes the existence, of an agricultural people long accus- 
tomed to city and village life. (Cf. the precautions of xxii. 
i-io in regard to house-building and agriculture ; also xix. 14.) 
The same of course holds true of the Book of the Covenant, 
from which these laws are taken. Chap, xx., especially vv. 
5-9, is ill adapted to the period of the conquest. Chap. xvii. 
14-20 gives directions for the conduct of kings. Samuel, and 
the author of I. Sam. viii., as well as the people of that day, 
seem never to have heard of it, but the directions and prohi- 
bitions themselves are scarcely comprehensible except when 

* See page igf. 
4 



50 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

read side by side with the story of Solomon's abuses of the 
office, II. Kings x. 14 — xi. 8. Chaps, xxix. and xxx. (D'', cf. 
especially xxix. 28), which assume that the alternative of 
blessing or curse of the preceding chapters is no longer open 
but that the curse has already fallen, we do not here consider, 
as they cannot in any case be earlier than the Code, and are 
regarded by critics as a later appendix. As negative evidence 
of a post-Mosaic origin the above should suffice. Have we 
any means of determining constructively the date of Deuter- 
onomy ? 

For the purely literary critic the resemblance of the style, 
language, religious conceptions and general standpoint to 
Jeremiah is so marked as perhaps to outweigh even the 
historical evidence. Some critics have indeed claimed Jere- 
miah as the author, on the ground of identity of expressions 
and cast of thought ; but the evidence is inconclusive and too 
technical for our consideration. We must proceed at once to 
the examination of that radical religious reform carried 
through by Josiah according to the requirement of " this 
Book of the Torah," which in the account itself is stated to 
have been an innovation upon the practise of all the people 
from time immemorial. Both the Code itself, Deut. xii. ff., 
and the story of the reform, II. Kings xxiii., make it absolutely 
unmistakable what the nature of the revolution was. It was 
the abolition of the bamoth (" high places "), or local sanctuaries 
and altars, and the concentration of the worship of the entire 
people at Jerusalem, designated as " the place which Yahweh 
shall choose." It was demanded on the ground that these 
local shrines with their altars, " pillars " {inaggeboth), and 
sacred trees, or asherim (wooden posts used as religious 
symbols), were of Canaanitish origin, and tended to corrupt 
the worship of Yahweh into resemblance to the impure wor- 
ship of the Canaanite baalim (Dt. xii. 1-18). All this was 
most unquestionably true, and we may even say that had not 
this radical discrimination of Yahweh-worship from ordinary 
Semitic Baal- worship (cf, Hos. ii. i6f.) taken place as it did 
scarcely a generation before the people were scattered in 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 51 

exile, Judah, and with it Yahweh-worship, with all its price- 
less treasures of revelation and religious thought, would have 
disappeared as completely as Ephraim did in captivity, by 
simple assimilation and absorption among kindred peoples. 
Whatever consequences it may have had in the development 
of ritualism and the extinction of prophecy in post-exilic 
times, it was a revolution which was necessary, and one to 
which we owe the preservation not only of the pre-exilic 
literature, but actually of the Jewish race itself as a "peculiar 
people," and the subsequent development of their religious 
consciousness. 

However, it was an innovation, and of the most radical 
character. The Book of the Covenant, Ex. xx.-xxiv., had dis- 
tinctly sanctioned the popular worship, "in every place 
where Yahweh caused his name to be remembered ;" the 
simple " altars of earth and unhewn stone" had dotted the land. 
Prophets like Amos, Hosea, Micah and Isaiah had deplored 
the tendency to Canaanitish practises there, but never 
dreamed of declaring them illegal. Elijah had built up the 
ruined altar of Carmel and mourned for those which an 
impious hand had broken down. Samuel (I. Sam. ixf.) 
honored the simple village sacrifice at the bamak ("high- 
place ") by his presence, and blessed the sacrifice ; from year to 
year he went in circuit from one to another of the most revered 
(vii. i6). Not a prophet or reformer or king of the ancient 
time but had exercised freely the right of private sacrifice 
and building of altars. If, as the Deuteronomist truly says, 
they were of Canaanitish origin, hitherto the whole effort of 
reformers had been to connect them with the history of 
Yahweh's relations with the patriarchs. The narratives of 
Genesis * are almost exclusively devoted to connecting this 
(sacred) tree, that altar, this (sacred) well, with the history 
of the patriarchs ; and the origin of sanctuary after sanctuary, 
tree after tree, "pillar" after "pillar" is justified in the 
relation of how " Yahweh had caused his name to be remem- 
bered there." 

* The JE element only. P maintains the strictest silence on the whole subject of 
sacrifices, altars and sacred places. 



52 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

Isaiah had begun the movement of reform, but even Isaiah, 
although the destruction of Ephraim in 722 B. C. removed the 
most insurmountable obstacle in the way of concentration of 
the worship at Jerusalem, did not accomplish, if he even at- 
tempted, the abolition of the local sanctuaries ; and " a ma^^ebah 
to Yahweh" in the border of Egypt, and an altar in the midst of 
Egypt(Is. xix. 19), was to him an end to be devoutly prayed for. 
Compare with this the distinct prohibition of Deut. xvi. 2 if., 
" Thou shalt not plant thee an asherah of any kind of tree 
beside the altar of Yahweh thy God which thou shalt make 
thee, neither shalt thou set thee up a maggebah ; which Yah- 
weh thy God hateth," and that of Lev. xxvi. i, "Ye shall 
make you no idols, neither shall ye rear you up a graven 
image, or a maggebah^ neither shall ye place any figured stone 
in your land to bow down to it." 

This warfare against material objects of worship as such 
appears to have been preceded, as we might expect, by a 
period of warfare against the heathen sacred tree, stone or 
macjebah as distinct from that reared in honor of Yahweh. The 
macgeboth of the Canaanites are to be broken in pieces, Ex. 
xxiii. 24; xxxiv. 13! ; Num. xxxiii. 52. It is this stage of 
prophetic " zeal for Yahweh " which is presented in the pre- 
Isaianic prophets and in the narratives of Genesis re-baptizing 
the sacred trees, wells, stones, cairns, cromlechs, altars and 
maggeboth of the land into memorials of Yahweh's relations 
with the patriarchs. So at least the critics understand the 
records. (Cf. Gen. xxi. 33 ; xxviii. 18, 22 ; xxxv. 14, 20, and 
passim J Josh. xxiv. 26 ; Hos. iii. 4.) 

We cannot enter further into the story of this contest of 
the prophets (and doubtless the priests also), in the seventh 
century, for the purification of Yahweh-worship from Canaan- 
itish survivals. Much more can be obtained by reading 
Part I. of the " History " of Wellhausen. Whether due to 
the prophetic insight of Moses discovering in advance the 
exact wants of the century in which Deuteronomy would 
come to light ; or whether the book be considered an adapta- 
tion to that time of the Mosaic torah as it was understood in 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 53 

the circle of prophetic and priestly reformers of the period 
of Josiah, its legitimate guardians and exponents ; certain it 
is that the Deuteronomic Code plunges into the very thick 
of the contest, at the opportune moment when the long re- 
actionary policy of Manasseh and Amon has been displaced 
by that of a docile youth under a priestly regency. It sum- 
mons reformers to the vital issue of that very day in its 
opening words : " Ye shall not do after all the things that we 
do here this day, every man whatsoever is right in his own 
eyes." (Dt. xii. 8. Cf. also Dt. xvii. 3 with II. Kings xxi. 3.) 

Even the consequences of its radical innovation in the 
worship are foreseen and provided for in Deuteronomy. 
For the ancient Israelite sacrifice and slaughter were the 
same thing. The Hebrew has but one word for both. Meat 
was rarely eaten, and whenever an animal was killed it was 
brought " unto God" Ex. xxi. 6 — of course not to the distant 
temple at Jerusalem, but to the village sanctuary and altar. 
Slaughter without this consecrating of the blood at the altar 
was impious, I. Sam. xiv. 32-35 ; but when animals were 
taken in the chase, it was provided as a substitute for the 
altar service, that the blood should be poured out upon the 
ground, Lev. xvii. 1-14. Among other consequences of the 
revolution effected by Deuteronomy would be the impossibil- 
ity of bringing animals to Jerusalem to be slaughtered. This 
difficulty of distance is foreseen and provided for in Dt. xiv. 
24!, and express provision is made for this case in the second 
part of the opening chapter of the Code, Dt. xii. 15-27, which 
extends the provisions previously applying to " the gazelle and 
hart " to all kinds of flesh. 

A more serious difficulty was the providing of support for 
the priests who would be made destitute by the abolition 
of the bamoth. These rural priests {Chemariin) are recognized 
in Deuteronomy as on a footing of equality with the Jerusa- 
lem priesthood of the house of Zadok. They were Levites, 
and in Deuteronomy, just as in Jeremiah, the phrases, " the 
priests the Levites " and " the Levites the priests " are inter- 
changeable. The distinction so strongly marked in the 



54 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

Priestly Code between a priest and a Levite has here no exis- 
tence whatever.* The author accordingly not only com- 
mends repeatedly the Levite, in connection with the widow 
and fatherless, to the compassion of the people, but devotes 
the section xviii. i-8 to a special enactment providing that: — 

" If a Levite come from any of thy gates out of all Israel, where he 
sojourneth, and come with all the desire of his soul unto the place which 
Yahweh shall choose ; then he shall minister in the name of Yahweh his 
God, as all his brethren the Levites do, which stand there before 
Yahweh. They shall have like portions to eat, beside that which cometh 
of the sale of his patrimony." 

The Levites who thus became dependent upon the charity 
of the people and of their Jerusalem (Zadokite) brethren 
could not of course expect to remain on a footing of equality 
with these latter, and, as we shall see, it is from the history 
of the ever-widening discrimination between the mere 
Levites, and the Zadokite priesthood, that one of the strongest 
arguments is derived for the date of the Priestly Code. 

With this exhibition of the internal evidence for Deuteron- 
omy as the product of the great struggle for reform in the 
seventh century B. C, an adaptation of the torah of Moses, 
both oral and written, to the necessities of the struggle for 
pure worship, we must leave the reader to decide for him- 
self how much weight may be given to the argument of his- 
torical critics for this their cardinal position, and proceed 
briefly to describe the subordinate propositions of current 
historical criticism. 

12. We have already seen (p. 38) that the concentration 
of worship around the single altar at Jerusalem, which is the 
great innovation of Deuteronomy, is in the -Priestly Code of 
the Pentateuch already a fundamental axiom. The central 
altar protected by concentric rings of sanctity is the core and 
kernel of all the Levitical ritual law. Totally unknown to 
the earlier history, to prophets, legislators and reformers, and 

* Cf. Deut. xviii. i, " the priests, the Levites even all the tribe of Levi,' ^ with the 
repeated denunciation of the death penalty in the Priestly Code for a usurpation of 
the least function of the priest by a Levite, in particular the destruction of Korah 
and his company. Num. xvi. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 55 

indeed totally impracticable under the conditions previous to 
the captivity of Ephraim, it comes first to light when Ezra 
"the priest, the scribe of the law of the God of heaven" re- 
turns empowered by Artaxerxes to reconstruct the unfortu- 
nate little colony at Jerusalem "according to the law of his 
God which was in his hand," Ezra vii. 1-26. From this time 
Judaism begins. In the words of Dean Stanley, "it was 
not a nation but a church which returned." The prophet is 
displaced by the scribe ; the local sanctuary by the syna- 
gogue ; king, nobles and people, by high-priests and priests, 
Levites and laity. There can be no question when the Priestly 
Law was introduced, the only question must be. When did it 
originate in a written form? and what was the function of 
" Ezra the priest, the scribe, even the scribe of the words of 
the commandments of Yahweh, and of his statutes to Israel ?" 
(Ezra vii. 11.) 

It cannot again be necessary to enter into all the minutiae 
of external and internal evidence. Suffice it to say that the 
Documentary Analysis distinguishes in the Hexateuch a 
priestly element, P, easily separable, all the way from Gen. i. 
to Josh, xxiv., from the so-called "prophetic narrative," JE, 
and comprising the whole Levitical or ritual law. The 
nucleus of the work is supposed to be a priestly code (P') in- 
corporated in Lev. xvii-xxvi. to which the great majority of 
critics assign a date nearly contemporaneous with Ezekiel. 
The rest of P (P^) is mainly a code of ritual law presented 
in the form of a history of the conquest of Canaan. A cer- 
tain amount of material incorporated at a still later date is 
classified as P'. The great mass of the book is naturally 
located at Sinai (Ex. xxv-xl. Lev. i-xxvii. Num. i-x.) but 
special laws or "covenants" are brought in at important 
epochs : the Sabbath, at creation ; Noachic law of bloodshed, 
Gen. ix. ; circumcision. Gen. xvii. ; passover, Ex. xii. Another 
important object for the writer seems to be the deduction of 
exact genealogies from Adam down, in the case of all char- 
acters of the history ; and still another the distribution of the 
land of Canaan by lot according to the heads of the fathers' 



56 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

houses of each tribe. Thus the patriarchal period is divided 
into ten Toledoth or genealogies, of which Gen. v. is an ex- 
ample, only interrupted here and there by something of legal 
or ritual importance. The story is a mere skeleton or frame- 
work, derived, according to the dominant school of criticism, 
from J E. In Joshua it is almost purely occupied with as- 
signing boundaries, to the tribal "lots ; " in the middle books 
of course with ritual prescriptions. 

The style is inexpressibly verbose, artificial and repetitious, 
and is comparable to nothing but the genealogies and inven- 
tories of Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah. (Cf. Num. vii., the 
same passage of six verses repeated verbatim twelve times over, with 
Ezra ii.) The decimal system is introduced everywhere and 
a minute chronology extends up to the very day of creation, 
including the birth-day and death-day of every descendant of 
Adam down to the Flood, and of all the patriarchs since. The 
minutest detail of numbers, statistics and measurements (the 
same which drew the unsparing criticism of Colenso) per- 
vades all the history, and gives to the whole document the 
tone of a mathematical calculation. In the judgment of Nol- 
deke, the great critic of the Priestly Code, a more artificial, 
unnatural and purely mechanical treatment of the story can 
scarcely be conceived. It is needless to add that P is abso- 
lutely barren of poetic material. 

No anachronism is traceable in the document, for the writer 
never permits himself for one moment to anticipate the 
course of revelation as he has mapped it out. The name 
Yahweh, for example, is not used until Ex. vi. 2, where it is 
related to have been revealed to Moses. Thereafter it is 
used uniformly. The frequent sacrificing, altar-building, 
and other religious observances which in J E so largely oc- 
cupy the time of the patriarchs, in P are wholly wanting 
until the instituting of the ritual at Sinai sets the system in 
regular motion. 

Mechanical and artificial as is the Priestly Code in both 
style and conception, the religious ideas which it embodies 
are the loftiest of the Pentateuch. The justly admired mon- 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 57 

otheistic representations of Gen. i. are characteristic of P. 
The naif, poetic and striking- but crude anthropomorphisms 
of J, which only partially disappear in E, are wholly removed 
from P. The life has gone out of the narrative of J E in the 
form P gives it, but at least we must recognize here the work 
of one who desires to embalm for perpetual preservation the 
records of a past replete with divine significance. The treat- 
ment of the history is a process of smoothing out all the 
wrinkles and reducing of every thing to an absolute and 
stereotyped uniformity of perfection, and this naturally ex- 
cites the antipathy of the historical critic ; but the very 
changes which obliterate for example from the story of the 
patriarchs all traces of dissension and wrong conduct, leaving 
nothing but an ideal and uniform existence of unbroken 
serenity, or which in Joshua transform the checkered history 
of the Conquest into a simple division of Canaan among 
the tribes by lot, after we have been told in two words how 
Joshua converted the whole territory into a tabula rasa, are 
due to nothing else than the very vividness with which a 
mind extravagantly devoted to minute and mechanical sys- 
tematizing, and utterly unprotected from its own vagaries by 
the first scintillation of historical imagination or critical 
sense, has grasped the fundamental idea of a divine purpose 
and a divine revelation in the history. Crude and artificial 
as it is, from the point of view of the historian, this extraor- 
dinary document had a providential task to fulfill in the year 
444 B. C. and whether then new or old it was providentially 
adapted to fulfill it. We can take but a single illustration 
from each department of the evidence adduced by historical 
criticism for assigning the work to about this date.* 

13. Deuteronomy is regarded by the traditionary school as 

* See chapter III., p 67, for Dillmann's dissenting view. His opposition to the 
opinion of the dominant school is however more apparent than real, since he also 
although claiming an existence of P before the Exile — some portions excepted— 
would consider it to have been quite unknown, its existence being merely latent. 
He also considers P entirely dependent upon E and some of the sources of J for his 
historical material. As the Dillmann theory is certainly losing ground it will not 
be necessary to paj' it further attention in what follows. 



58 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

later than the priestly legislation. It professes to set forth 
the law of Moses given at Horeb. It rehearses the history of 
all the period from Sinai to the Jordan, in which the great mass 
of the priestly document falls. It is singular, in this view, that 
the minutest search of critic after critic in both the narrative 
and the legislative parts of Deuteronomy has failed, as even 
Dillmann, who maintains the origin of P before Deuteronomy, 
confesses, to reveal one trace of acquaintance with any part 
of this great mass of mingled law and narrative. But not even 
is this all. The analysis of Num. xvi., for example, reveals a JE 
element narrating the revolt of Dathan and Abiram, Reuben- 
ites, against Moses, and their punishment by being swallowed 
up alive. Intimately inwoven and blended v/ith this is the 
narrative of P of an attempt of Korah with 250 Levites to 
usurp . the functions of the priesthood. Fire came out from 
Yahweh and devoured them. Dt. xi. 6 quotes this chapter, 
bid only the J E element. Korah and all pertaining to him are 
simply ignored. As external evidence that P was unknown 
to the Deuteronomist facts like these must be admitted to 
have weight. 

The internal evidence for the late origin of P is mainly 
derived from evidences of development in the legislation 
beyond the point of Deuteronomy and Ezekiel. We select 
as a single example the regulations discriminating between 
priest and Levite. In the chapter just quoted, Num. xvi., P 
exhibits his conception of the inferiority of the Levites. It 
is in P a matter of birth, the priests being exclusively de- 
scendants of Aaron of the house of Zadok. The distinction 
is thus for him primeval. But in considering Deuteronomy 
we found an equality between priests and Levites only just 
beginning to separate into a distinction of rank between the 
Zadokites and the ordinary Levite. How came this little 
rift to widen to such a chasm ? The transition point is found 
in Ezekiel's legislation. Here in Ez. xliv. 7-16 "the Levites 
that went far from me, when Israel went astray" are as- 
signed a menial position in the sanctuary (displacing the for- 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 59 

eign hierodouloi, apparently Philistines,* who had performed 
such services), 

" Because they ministered unto them before their idols, and became a 
stumbling-block of iniquity unto the house of Israel : therefore have I 
lifted up my hand against them saith the Lord Yahweh, and they shall 
bear their iniquity. And they shall not come near unto me, to execute 
the office of priest unto me nor to come near unto any of my holy thmgs. 
. . . . Yet will I make them keepers of the charge of the house for 
all the service thereof and for all that shall be done therein. But the 
priests the Levztes, the sons of Zadok, that kept the charge of my 
sanctuary when the children of Israel went astray from me, they 
shall come near unto me to mmister unto me ; and they shall stand 
before me to offer unto me the fat and the blood, saith the Lord Yahweh, 
they shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my table 
to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge." 

That which in the Priestly Law is regarded as primeval, is 
here instituted as a punishment for ministering in illegitimate 
worship. The passage looks both forward and backward ; 
backward to a time when, as in Deuteronomy, " the priests, 
the Levites" .were "all the tribe of Levi;" forward to the 
time when, as in the Priestly Code, the Zadokites shall be the 
only legitimate priests and the other Levites mere servants. 
In this development Deuteronomy stands earliest, Ezekiel 
midway, P latest. 

A striking detail of the phenomenon is the fact of the re- 
tention in Num. xvii. i, 23 (P) of the very phrase "they 
shall bear their iniqiiity " twice employed by Ezekiel. In the 
Priestly Code however all odium is removed from it. The 
sense attached is simply "act as mediators for the people." 

14. Referring the reader to the technical works already 
cited for evidence as to the origin of P, and to the document 
itself for further characterization, we turn to the other ele- 
ment of the Hexateuch, the Prophetic Narrative J E. Al- 
though recognized by critics as duplicate, the two strands of 
J E are so closely similar in style, content, purpose and gen- 
eral characteristics, and withal are so closely intertwined, 

* So considered from the fact that they were " uncircumcised," Ez. xliv. 7-9, 
"leaped over the threshold," Zeph. i. 9— cf. i Sam. v. 4 f., and were perhaps no 
other than the king's body-guard of Cretans and Philistines, 2 Sam. viii. 18; xv. 
18 ; XX. 7, 23 ; I Kings i. 38, 44. 



60 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

that it is better to treat J E first as a unit. Such indeed rela- 
tively to D and P it really is. Afterward I shall refer more 
briefly to some of the characteristics which distinguish E 
from J. 

The external evidence for J E in Deuteronomy is as com- 
plete as it was absolutely wanting- for P. The narrative 
parts of Deuteronomy reproduce J E throughout the period 
covered in Exodus and Numbers, precisely as extricated b^ 
the analysis, and in frequent cases verbatim. The legal enact- 
ments again reproduce the whole of the Book of the Cove- 
nant, Ex. xx-xxiv. 8 (E), with scarcely an exception. For 
the separate parts of JE references can be found of a still 
higher antiquity. Thus E in Ex. iv.-xv. can be traced in Is. 
X. 24, 26, and later ; and Hosea, at a still earlier period, re- 
peatedly refers to the narratives of J. In view of this it is 
not necessary to refer again to the pre-deuteronomic attitude 
assumed in JE toward the local sanctuaries, trees, altars, 
wells and maggeboth, which are universally put in a favora- 
ble light and connected with theophanies to, or experiences 
of, the patriarchs. The style, language and religious stand- 
point is in general that of Isaiah and his period, though 
betraying of course in the older portions a much more arch- 
aic type. If, however, the judgment of historical critics is 
worth anything, the religious standpoint of both elements of 
JE is such as cannot possibly be supposed to antedate the 
great religious revival of Elijah. The whole work is in fact 
permeated through and through with the " prophetic " spirit 
of Elijah and his successors, of "jealousy for Yahweh " 
(I. Kings xix. 10, 14). It is to paint in most vivid colors the 
action of Yahweh for his people from the beginning, his 
favor for their obedience, and wrath for their frowardness, 
that this incomparable collection of the folk-lore of Israel 
was made. With a distinctly religious purpose it was shaped 
into a national epos of Yahweh's dealing with his people from 
the time when he called Abram and promised him the land, 
till that promise was fulfilled to the children of Abram. 
There is no period which it so appropriately fits as that 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 61 

golden age of prophetic activity, where literature and the 
religious consciousness seem to have sprung at once and to- 
gether almost to their perfect bloom. Whenever it may have 
found its origin, it found its significance in the age of the 
great prophets Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah ; the age which 
begins with the brilliant and prosperous reigns of Jero- 
boam II. and Uzziah, and ends with the tragic fate of Josiah. 
Here, as part of the great prophetic movement, if guided by 
historical criticism, we must place the origin of the Bible ; 
for this, and nothing less, was the function of the Prophetic 
Narrative, especially after its combination with Deuteron- 
omy, to be the Bible of pre-exilic Israel. 

With this date agrees every indication of the text, the refer- 
ences to the monarchy, to the extinction of the Canaanites, 
to the temple, to the Book of Jashar (Josh. x. r2f=E), and 
others already noted. From the standpoint of literary and 
historical criticism JE is of the very bone and flesh of the 
Assjrrian period, 850-722 B. C. If it was already in existence 
before the conquest of Canaan it was a miraculous removal 
during deep sleep. 

Of the character and purpose of JE we can speak but 
briefly in addition to what has been already spoken and im- 
plied. Contrast in style could not be stronger than between 
JE and P. Graphic narrative, brilliant coloring, dramatic 
power, idyllic simplicity and freshness take the place of " end- 
less genealogies" and ponderous artificiality. Poetry and 
imaginative genius illuminate every page. We visit each 
local shrine and sanctuary and learn the story of its origin. 
We live the life of the patriarchs, and find it that of the 
peasant of pre-exilic Israel. Love-stories, tales of feats of 
cunning over-reaching cunning, of gigantic strength, of 
heaven-sent wisdom and kind-heartedness, puns and jokes 
even (Gen. xl. 13 and 19), awaken the interest, sympathy or 
mirth of the reader. Rarely (least rarely in J) do we meet 
with coarse innuendoes (Gen. xix. 3off ) and popular super- 
stitions (Gen. XXX. 14-16). The fountains of minstrelsy and 
ballad-lore yet flow copiously through its pages. But through 



63 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

it all runs the thread of a unifying purpose, a religious motif 
which betrays the inspiration of the men who made Israel " a 
light to lighten the Gentiles." This underlying motif, more 
clear in E than in J, in JE than in either, is a purpose to 
show forth " God in history." The " history " is such only as 
the age could provide, but the God apprehended there is the 
Everlasting God of Truth and Righteousness. 

15. In the ensuing analysis, J is presented as antedating E 
by some fifty years, and as derived from Judah. There are 
difficulties in the way of assuming both together. Both style 
and material of J seem more archaic than E. J is more sec- 
ular, E more careful to preserve the religious tone.* These 
phenomena naturally lead to the conclusion that J is older, 
especially if, as seems probable, one is dependent upon the 
other more or less indirectly. Also the external evidence, it 
will be remembered, can be traced further back for J than 
for E. On the other hand, an origin in less prosperous Judah 
might account for a less developed literary product, and it is 
hard to accept the very considerable evidence for the 
southern origin of J and at the same time account otherwise 
than by dependence upon E for the fact of his including the 
same list of sanctuaries (all Ephraimite but one), as E, whose 
Ephraimite proclivities are so marked as to be universally 
conceded among critics. Hence Kuenen, convinced of the 
earlier origin of J, considers the document Ephraimite and E 
as merely emphasizing its national tendenz. The solution is 
perhaps to be found in the fact that both J and E may draw 
from an elohistic, Ephraimite (poetic ?) source, E being the 
later, and the common material of the two be thus only 
indirectly related. To this source J may well have added 
his southern material and modified its Ephraimite character, 
though he did not remove it. The contrasts between J and 
E in style, phraseology and religious conceptions are striking 

* Cf. Jacob's overreaching of Laban in J xxx. 41-43 with God's providential favor- 
ing of Jacob in E xxxi. 7-9 ; similarly xxx. 14-16 (J) with lyf . (E) ; xii. 13 (J), with xx. 
12 (E) ; xvi. 6f. (J), with xxi. 11-13 (E) ; and see xlv. 5-8, 1. igf., and other E passages. 



THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 63 

and interesting ; as, for example, the revelation by dream or 
by a voice "from heaven " in E (cf. Num. xii. 6-8), in con- 
trast to the personal interviews with Yahweh related by J. 
Certain modes of expression, as e. g. E's formula of address. 
Gen. xxii. i, 7, 11, etc., and contrasted historical conceptions, 
are interesting, but belong rather to the details of analysis 
than to our present general characterization. 

16. We bring to a close our theory and method, and our 
presentation of the outline of the argument of historical 
criticism of the Pentateuch, by calling the attention of the 
reader to the revolution which must follow from it, if adopted, 
in current modes of conceiving the history of Israel. Instead 
of starting at the summit and rehearsing nothing but a long 
series of lapses and reinstatements, the history thus conceived 
discloses a connected development, a wavering but neverthe- 
less constant line of advance in the development of the 
religious consciousness of Israel ; first the prophet, the creative 
genius, emphasizing the moral law ; then the priest and scribe, 
the conservative power, developing ritual form. From the 
simple idyllic transcripts of the folk-lore and national tradi- 
tion which served as the earliest channel by which the devo- 
tion of the prophets to Yahweh the God of Israel, the God of 
Righteousness, was transfused into the veins of the common 
people, down to the epoch-making Deuteronomic Code, and to 
the Priestly Legislation, protecting, even while it restricted 
and seemed almost to stifle beneath its panoply, the germs of 
religious life in the beginnings of Judaism, we have a pro- 
gressive revelation of God, a continuous development of the 
Hebrew religious consciousness. In this development the 
creative element is the inspired genius of prophetism, appre- 
hending God in history, and in the conscience ; the corrective 
element is the providential course of events, persistently 
pruning and training the conception ; and the conservative 
element, the ritual law. Hebrew history and Hebrew litera- 
ture, placed side by side and studied by the inductive methods 
of criticism, lead up to this as a scientific statement of the 



64 THE SCIENCE OF HISTORICAL CRITICISM. 

doctrine of Divine Revelation, and to the Bible as the ripest 
and most perfect fruit of this spiritual evolution. 

Many doubtless will continue to cling to the tradition of 
the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, as men long clung 
to the Davidic authorship of the Psalms. But those who 
have witnessed the quiet superseding of this now obsolete 
idea by that of historical criticism, presenting the Psalm- 
book as a conglomerate which unites in one collection fruits 
of the religious thought and feeling of Israel during 
many centuries", have no excuse for regarding the exactly 
analogous treatment of the heterogeneous elements of the 
Hexateuch as necessarily subversive of religious faith. 
Rather let us, with the genuine faith in divine revelation of 
the late Dean Stanley, see in the results of criticism a dis- 
covery of " Bibles within the Bible," — a discovery which 
testifies to the continuous operation and guidance of the 
Spirit of Truth in the history of spiritual life in Israel, 
exactly as the geologist's strata, layer upon layer, bear 
witness with their embedded fossil survivals of a pre -historic 
age to the continuous work of the Creator in the sphere 
of physical life. For here also are " tables of stone written 
with the finger of God ;" here also are *' prophets which have 
been since the world began." 



CHAPTER III. 

Pentateuchai. Analysis.*! 

A few words touching the field of controversy are needed in order to 
a correct idea of the theories and the stand-point of the authorities 
cited. 

The prevailing theory is the Grafian. Graf's followers, pre-eminent 
among whom are Kuenen and Wellhausen, consider the " prophetic," 
so-called ( JE), to be the older of the two main sources of the Hexateuch. 
JE itself is composite, a close amalgamation of two kindred narratives 
of Hebrew history. J (circ. 800) and E (circ. 750) circulated for a time 
independently, and were more or less modified. After the destruction 
of Ephraim and the discovery of Deuteronomy (621) whose origin also 
must be placed at about this period (650-621), J and E were united into 
a closely welded whole, and soon after, Deuteronomy, which had, mean- 
time, received an introduction and an appendix, was incorporated. J 

These two processes necessitated further interpolation and modifica- 

tion, and for a considerable period -^ — ^-Rd" ~ '^^^ circulated as a 

well-rounded "prophetic" compilation. But with the inteiTuption of 
the cultus by the exile began the process of codification of the Levitical, 



* The subjoined articles were printed in Hebraica, IV. 4 and V. 1 (July and Octo- 
ber, 1888), and were intended as a basis for the discussion of the Pentateuchai 
Question in the columns of that journal; but also, as appears from the note follow- 
ing, as a preliminary to the present volume then in preparation. Lack of space 
has unfortunately compelled the omission of the foot-notes which contained the 
divergent analyses of the authorities cited on page 68, and of course also of the 
analyses of later critics by which the articles had been brought down to date by 
the author. The omission is the less serious from the fact that the articles them- 
selves are accessible, and moreover from the fact that it was their most striking 
result to prove an almost exact coincidence in the analyses of independent critics, 
instead of the "conflicting results" which have been erroneously ascribed to them. 
With the exception noted the articles are reproduced substantially in their original 
form. 

+ A Tabular Presentation according to Representatives of the Prin- 
cipal Schools of Higher Criticism, including Fragments and Portions 
assigned to editors, interpolators, compilers and glossators. 

The writer has in preparation a volume embodying the subjoined analysis and 
presenting J, E, and P conjecturally restored. 

* Wellhausen holds that the amalgamation of J and E preceded the origin of D. 

5 (65) 



66 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

ritual law. Heretofore it had been consuetudinary, tradition and the 
living praxis having sufllced for its transmission. Ezekiel (40-48)* 
inaugurated the new system of a written Torah, which progressed 
during the exile with the formation of the code known as the Heilig- 
Jceitsgesetz, Pi (Lev. 17-26), an antique body of laws midway in tone 
between Deuteronomy and the priestly legislation. It culminated in 
the priestly code, P2. This great work drew from JE a sketch of the 
history, made from its own stand-point. It was subsequently enlarged 
by the incorporation of Pi and by expansions and additions desig- 
nated P^. Ezra introduced it as the constitution of the post-exilic 
hierarchical state. A final redactor, E, combined P with JED at some 
time between Ezra's promulgation thereof (444 B. C.) and the appear- 
ance of the LXX. version (circ. 280 B. C). We might express the 

V. +V. * 1 XT ^ u (J+E)-fD-f-(Pl-^P2 + P3)^ 

process by the formula : Hexateuch = —~~. — ~^-r,T^ —tt-^ ^^-t 

rtje tx^ K 

Against the Grafians a minority of critics under the able leadership 
of Dillmann still maintain the older theory, in a modified form. This 
school nearly coincides with the Grafian in the date and origin assigned 
to the prophetic narrative JE, and to Deuteronomy; but insists upon 
an earlier origin for P. Dillmann describes the development of the 
priestly element (P) somewhat as follows : 

The most ancient portions of P are more properly to be considered a 
cluster of fragments, most densely aggregated together in Lev. 17-26, 
but scattered also throughout the middle portion of the Hexateuch 
from Ex. 81 to Num. 15. In a certain sense they may be considered 
as having a common " source," since attempts at codification were 
made probably as early as the period of Jehoshaphat, the material 
itself being consuetudinary law transmitted in certain cases from a 
period as remote as the first centuries after the conquest. But this 
source Pi (Dill. S) shows no such unity of design as to enable us to 
treat it as a specific document. On the contrary certain portions were 
incorporated by P2 and worked over by him, certain others were taken 
up by R after complete recasting at his hand, still others adopted in an 
unassimilated form. J 



* Throughout the article, chapters are distinguished from verses by means of 
bold-faced type. 

t The denominators in the formulae are thus placed to indicate the fact that their 
relation to the factors beneath which they stand is that of compilers and editors. 

t The Hypothesis broached in Dill. ii. of a version of S (Pi) worked over and 
incorporated by C (PiJ) is withdrawn in Dill, iii., p. 633; hence the only remaining 
versions of Pi recognized by him are Pip2 and Pir. From these are to be distin- 
guished perhaps unadulterated fragments Pi (iii., pp. 633-670). 



PENTATEUOHAL ANALYSIS. 67 

But the differences still remaining between these various fragments 
of Pi, after allowance has been made for the double redaction of P2 
and R in the one case and of R alone in the other, is too great to admit 
of their having existed together in a single code. Two codes of pi at 
Ipast were current, beside individual toroth, and the process of redac- 
tion of Pi extended demonstrably into the Exile. A considerable 
group of fragments from one of these (including its hortatory conclu- 
sion, Lev. 26:3-45), still exhibiting its characteristic point of view of 
"holiness," is preserved to us in Leviticus 17-26, worked over, how- 
ever, by P2. 

P2, for whom the date 800 B. C. is approximately determined by Dill- 
mann, is held to be dependent for his historical material largely upon 
E (900-850 B. C), also upon the sources of J, which are frequently very 
ancient. Here and there he has ancient historical material of his own, 
but his richest sources are of course the priestly toroth. In the first 
half of the eighth century appeared J, dependent largely upon E, but 
also using P^, though writing from a totally different stand-point. As 
a popular writer he has access to popular sources. R's work consisted 
simply in the simultaneous combination of E, P2, J, and parts of Pi. 
Very rarely does he use the pen ; but in the transposition, clipping, 
and piecing of his material he shows the utmost freedom. Deuteron- 
omy, the latest document of the Hexateuch, was added by a later 
redactor, Rd, who used the pen more freely. Thus Dillmann, followed 
in general by Ed. Riehm (" Handworterbuch der bibl. Alterthum," 
Halle). 

The most recent period of Hexateuch criticism shows the develop- 
ment of a third school of more conservative character. W. Robertson 
Smith (" Old Test, in the Jewish Church," Appleton & Co., 1881 ; and 
" Prophets of Israel," 1882) made an attempt to show the compatibility 
of the Graflan theory with evangelical theology; but for a time the 
only safe course for orthodox scholars who recognized the scientific 
character of critical methods, was supposed to be to follow Dillmann. 
Two professors of the Leipzig faculty, however, E. E. Konig (" Offen- 
barungs begriff des Alt. Test.," 2 vols.; Leipzig, 1882), and the veteran 
commentator of world-wide fame, Eranz Delitzsch (" Ztschr. f. k. W. 
und k. Leben," 1880 ; and " Genesis," Leipzig, 1887) have boldly 
adopted the Grafian theory in its main outlines as not only in their 
opinion preferable in itself, but as affording a better basis for the 
defence of orthodoxy than Dillmann's. "W. Graf von Baudissin also 
(" Heutige Stand der a. t. Wissenschaft," Giessen, 1885) seeks a middle 



68 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

ground between Dillmann and Wellhausen. But in the special depart- 
ment of Hexateuch analysis a still more recent writer has the best 
claim to be considered the representative of that modem school which 
seeks both to avail itself of all the resources of criticism from an evan- 
gelical stand-point and to take an independent position while doing 
full justice to Dillmann on the one hand and to Kuenen and Wellhau- 
sen on the other. This most recent authority is R. Kittel (" Geschichte 
der Hebraer," Gotha, 1888). 
The following is a list of authorities from which our data are derived : 

Dillmann, August. 

Kurzgefasstes Exegetisches Hand-buch zum Alten Testament. 

VOL. 

I. Die Genesis. 5. Auflage. Leipzig: 1886. 

II. Die Biicher Exodus und Leviticus. 2. Auflage. Leipzig: 1880. 
III. Die Biicher Numeri Deuteronomium und Josua. 2. Auflage. 
Leipzig: 1886. 
Delitzsch, Franz. 

I. Neuer Commentar iiber die Genesis. Leipzig : 1887. 
II. Zeitschrift fiir kirchliche Wissenschaft und kirchliches Leben. 
1. Hefte I-XII. 1880. 
Kittel, B. 

Geschichte der Hebraer. 
I. 1. Halbbaud: Quellenkunde und Geschichte bis zum TodeJosuas. 

1888. 
II. Theologische Studien aus Wiirttemberg vii. 1886. 
Kuenen, A. 

I. Historico-critical Inquiry into the Origin and Composition of the 
Hexateuch. (Trans, by Wicksteed of Historisch-critisch Onder- 
zoek. 2. Uitgave. Leiden: 1885.) London: 1886. 
II. Theologisch Tijdschrift xi., xii., xiii., xv., xviii. 1877-1884. 
Wellhausen, Julius. 

I., II., III. Die Composition des Hexateuches. Three articles in 

Jahrbiicher fiir Deutsche Theologie, xxi., xxii. 1876, 1877. The 

same reprinted in Skizzen und Vorarbeiteii. Part II. BerUn: 

1885, and translated by Colenso in Wellhausen on the Composition. 

Budde, K. 

I. Die Biblische Urgeschichte (Gen. i.-xii. 5) untersucht. Giessen : 

1883. 
II. Gen. XL VIII. 7 und die benachbarten Abschnitte : Zeitschrift 
fiir die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft, iii. 1883. 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 69 

III. Eichter und Josua. Zeitschrift fiir die alttestamentliche Wis- 
senschaft, viii. 1888. 
Jiilicher, A. 

I. Die Quellen von Exod. i.-vii. 7. Dissertation. Halle : 1880. 
II. Die Quellen von Exod. vii. 8-xxiv. 11. Jahrbuch fiir Protest- 
antische Theologie, viii. 1882. 

The above cited works furnish the data for the summary of Hexa- 
teuch analysis, and are selected for completeness and for their repre- 
sentative character. The divergence between the analysis of Dillmann 
and Wellhausen measures, probably, the extent of difference on this 
score among the recognized critical authorities of to-day. 

These authorities are referred to under the following abbreviations : 
Dill. I., II., III. ; Del. i. and ii. 1, 2, 3, etc. ; Kitt. i., ii. ; Kuen. i. and 
XI., XII., etc. ; Well, i., ii., in. ; Bud. i., ii., iii. ; Jiil. i., ii., in. For 
a bibliography of critical works, the reader is referred to Dill, i., ii., 
III. and Kuen. i.* 



A. THE PRIESTLY LAW BOOK P^. 

I. Genesis. 

In the following pages the analysis of Dillmann is given as the basis, and that of 
the other critics in the foot-notes, + an arrangement adopted for convenience and 
not intended to indicate a preference. Portions included in [ ] are attributed by 
other critics to a different source. The * indicates a corruption of the text. Ps, 
in our nomenclature, stands for all additions not of a merely editorial nature, 
appended by second, third or fourth hand to the great law-book whose framework 
is the priestly history. Similarly J2, E2, Ds, include all elements not of an editorial 
character which have been appended to the original "prophetic" documents. 
Notes intended according to the critics for harmonizing JE and E, or for the union 
of JE to D, and glosses and interpolations in general of a minor character, supposed 
to have preceded the union of JED to P, are included under Rd. R occupies toward 
JEDP the same relation that Rd does toward JED. Dillmann's theory, of course, 
makes the activity of R precede that of Rd whose work consisted in uniting D to 
JEP. 

1. The TOLEDOTH of the Heavens and the Earth : an account of crea- 
tion and of the institution of the Sabbath. 



* Since the above was written there have appeared in this class of works Die 
Genesis: E. Kautzsch and A. Socin. Freiburg, I. B. 1888 (3d ed. 1891), and Composi- 
tton des Hexateuchs : J. Wellhausen. Berlin, 1890, a reprint of Well. ii. with appen- 
dices bringing the discussion down to date. 

+ See note on page 65. 



70 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

l:2-2:4a (2:4a, the original title, was removed from before 1:2 by R, 
who supplied instead v. 1 ). 

2. The Book of the Toledoth of Adam: a genealogy of ten genera- 
tions, the tenth link branching into three, showing the descent of Koah 
from Adam in the line of the eldest son. 

5:1-32 (exc. v. 29 [= J]). 

3. The ToLEBOTH of Noah : an account of the flood, lasting for two 
periods of five months and one of two months (365 days), and of the 
institution of God's covenant with Noah ; the Noachic legislation. 

6:9-22; 7:6,ll,13-16a,18-21,23b,24; 8:l,2a,3b-5,13a,14-19 ; 9:l-17,28f 
(7:7-9 = R). 

4. The Toledoth of the sons of Noah : an ethnological table deriving 
the peoples of the world by descent from the three sons of Noah, be- 
ginning with the youngest. 

10:l-7,20,22f,31f. 

5. The Toledoth of Shem : a second genealogy in ten generations 
branching into Abram, Nahor and Haran. 

11:10-26. 

6. The Toledoth of Terah : (a) a history of the migration of Terah, 
and of the journey and settlement in Canaan of Abram and Lot his 
descendants. 

11:27,31*,32 (DH^D "IIKD in v. 31 = R) ; 12:4b,5; 13:6,11b (from 

nnan) 12a (to n:D:)n)- 

(6) Further items in the history of the Terachites : Lot delivered 
from the overthrow of Sodom; Abram begets Ishmael; theophany 
to Abram and institution of the law of circumcision; promise of 
Isaac ; Isaac's birth ; Sarah dies ; Abraham buys the field of Ephron 
and buries Sarah in the cave of Machpelah ; death and burial of Abra- 
ham. 

19:29; 16:l,3,15f; ch. 17 (in v. 1 read D^'^'7K ^ changed by R to 
nin^); 21:lb*,2b-5 (in v. lb read DNl'^N); ch. 23; 25:7-lla. 

7. The Toledoth of Ishmael : a table of the twelve tribes of the 
Ishmaelites and notice of the age and death of Ishmael. 

25:12-17. 

8. The Toledoth of Isaac: his marriage and the birth of his sons ; 
Esau's marriage displeasing to his parents ; Jacob blessed and sent to 
Paddan-aram for a wife ; his family there ; he returns [and is involved 
in war with the Shechemites] ; God meets him at Bethel and there 
renews the covenant with him ; arrived at Hebron his father dies and 
is buried by Esau and Jacob ; Esau removes to Mt. Seir. 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 71 

25:19,20.... 26b; 26:34f ; 27:46; 28:1-9; (29:24,29; 30:4a,9b?); 31: 
18;* 33:18;* 34:la,2a,4,6,8-10,15-17,20-24. . . .(vs. 13f, 18,25,27-29 and 
{<DD in V. 5 = E) ; t35:6a,9-15 (exc. "T|^ in v. 9 [== E]), 16 in part, 10 
in part; 22b (from Vn*1)-29 ; 36:2a,5b,6-8; 37:1; (36:l,2b-5a = E with 
a basis of J(?) and P2). 

9. The ToLEDOTH of Esau : an ethnologico-genealogical table deriv- 
ing the twelve tribes of the Edomites from Esau ; the sons of Esau ; 
[the seven aluphim of the Horites ; the royal succession of Edom]; the 
aluphim of the Edomites, 

36:9a*, 10*, 11, 13*, 16-18*, 19a, 29f,31-35a, 36-43; (vs. 9b,12 and 14, 
p7t2^ ill V. 16, and \2m i^lH in vs. 19 and 35b = E. The names of 
Esau's wives also in vs. 10,13f,16-18 were altered by E to bring them 
into correspondence with his source in vs. 1-5). 

10. The ToLEDOTH of Jacob: Joseph's greatness in Egypt; the 
sons of Jacob migrate thither [a table of Jacob's descendants] ; Pha- 
raoh gives them audience and offers them the land of Eamses ; Jacob 
brings his life to a close in Egypt ; adopts the sons of Joseph ; gives 
final directions to his sons ; dies, and is buried in the cave of Mach- 
pelah. 

37:2a (to JKVD or to Dpj;»); 41:46,(47(?),36(?),50(?)) ; 46:6f,8-27, 
(vs. 8,12b,15,20,26f worked over by E) ; 4:7:5b, supplying before it from 

Lxx. '0 'D n;;nf3 j;oc^n vjoi Dpr ^ov '^n* nDn)£f2 M<y^ 
:]DV'? n;^-i£3 lo^n • 

Then 5b,6a,7-ll,27 in part, 28 ; 48:3-6 ; 49:la,28b-32 (exc. either 30b 
or V. 32 = E) ; 48:7 (exc. QH'? iTD NIH = K) ; 49:33 in part (tl^OH 
■■••w^DN*n = J); 50:12f. 

n. Exodus-Deuteronomy. 

1. "The sons of Israel which came into Egypt;" the cry of their 
bondage comes up before God. 

1:1-5,7 (exc. V. ab), 13f (exc. "IDHD- • • -mt^^ [= J or E] and 

nn;; '7D nj< [= rd -, 2:23 (from im^n on) -25. 

2. Theophany to Moses ; revelation of the name Yahweh as a pledge 
of deliverance ; Moses commissioned to deliver Israel ; [a genealogy of 
Eeuben, Simeon and Levi showing the descent of Moses and Aaron ; 
Aaron appointed Moses' spokesman. 

6:2-5,6*,7,10f,13,14-27 (vs. 8f,12,28f,30a = E. Much misplacing is 
also due to E) ; 6:30b-7:7. 

3. The five wonders in Egypt. Aaron's contest with the magicians. 



72 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

(a) The first wonder : Aaron's rod changed co a serpent ; the magi- 
cians do likewise. 

7:8-13. 

(b) The second wonder : Aaron's rod turns all the water of Egypt to 
blood ; the magicians do likewise. 

7:19-22 (exc. 20, from HIH* on, and 21a). 

(c) The third wonder : Aaron's rod brings frogs ; the magicians do 
likewise. 

8:1-3,11 (from J<':)«) on. Supply n;^-)£3 D'? pmn)- 

(d) The fourth wonder : Aaron's rod brings lice ; the magicians fail 
and acknowledge " the finger of God." 

8:12-15. 

(e) The fifth wonder : Moses and Aaron sprinkle ashes before Pha- 
raoh ; it becomes a boil on man and beast ; the magicians being stricken 
flee. Pharaoh still obdurate. 

9:8-12. 

(/) [Conclusion of the section. Pharaoh's obduracy provokes the 
direct intervention of Yahweh.] 
11:9,10 {9b perhaps = K). 

4. Passover : the deliverance from Egypt. 

{(() Moses and Aaron receive directions from Yahweh for Israel; 
regulations concerning the calendar and the killing and eating of the 
passover lamb. 

12:1-13,28. 

(h) Egypt smitten; Israel delivered; the law of Jfazsoi/i. In 12:37 
the word DDDj^lD ; then vs. 43-49,14-20,50,40,41a (lib = 51), 51. 

(o) The first-born shall be Yahweh's. 

13:1,2. 

5. Passage of the Red Sea. 

13:20; 14:1-4,8,9 in part (exc. DHnnj*? • • • • 151")^ [= JE] and 
D^Srn^l 2^1 [= R]). 15-18 (exc. ^"^J^ p^^n HD in V. 15, and O^tf 
1 IDD DK in V. 16 [= E]), 21ac,22,23 26 ; the first 6 words of 27,28a, 
29 (r:r"l5:}1 inrJlCl) in 17,18,23,26,28 and 'IJI nD") DID '?D in v. 
9 = R). 

6. The march to Sinai : [Elim] ; Manna given ; Rephidim ; Sinai ; 
Moses goes up into the mount. 

(15:27?); 16:l-3*,6*,8-14,15b,16-18,22-24,31-34,35*; 17:1a; 19:2a,l ; 
24:15-18a (to p^n) (15:27 perhaps E(?). Ch. 16 entirely worked over 
by R and removed from its proper position [to this all the critics agree]. 
The P2 elements are given as above in Dill., iii., p. 634, but in ii., p. 165, 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 73 

somewhat differently, e. g. v. 6f is attributed to P^ and v. 8 to R. Vs. 
3 in part, 4f,15a, 19f in part, 21, 25-30 ,35a = J, the rest = R). 

7. The law and the testimony : the pattern shown in the mount ; the 
institution and regulation of the Levitical ritual. 

From Ex. 25 to Num. 10 the entire mass is admitted by all the crit- 
ics to belong to P in its various stratifications Pi, P^, PS, Only Ex. 
32-34:28, and a trace of E in 31:18 belongs to the " prophetic " element, 
and in these three chapters Dillmann alone finds a single trace of P2 
(in 32:15a). The extrication of Pi, P2, P3 in Ex. 25-Num. 10 and the 
legal chapters of Numbers, with the analysis of the great code of the 
" prophetic " Hexateuch, Deuteronomy, are reserved for another arti- 
cle. The historical thread of P2 is traced by all the critics in Ex. 25ff., 
(the construction of the tabernacle), Lev. 9, 10 in part ; (the inaugura- 
tion of the ritual, and death of Nadab and Abihu), Num. 10:11-28; 
(the departure from Sinai). AYe proceed from the point where P2 is 
again combined with JE, viz., in the story of 

8. The sending of the spies, murmuring of the people at their report 
and the punishment. 

Num. 13:l-17a,21,25,26a,32 (to {<in) ; 14:1 in part, 2 in part, 5-7,10, 
26.27-29,34-38. 

9. The revolt of Korah and the Levites.; punishment of the people's 
murmuring ; the plague arrested by Aaron's atonement. 

16:la,2f in part, 4 in part, 6-7 for the most part, 18-24a,35 ; 17:6-15, 
16-28 (16:8 in part, 8-ll,16f,24b,27a,32b ^ R; 17:1-5 = P3). 

10. Water from the rock at Meribah ; the sin of Moses and Aaron ; 
Aaron's death ; fragments of the itinerary. 

20:1a (to ?C^K")n)i 2,3b,6f,8a*,10a,12M3*,22-29; 21:10f ; 22:1 (many 
traces of R). 

11. Israel misled by the Midianites after the counsel of Baalam; 
Phinehas' prompt action stays the plague. 

25:6-9,14-16,19 (10-13 ^ P3. 17f = R. Ch. 31 is connected with this 
account, but in its present form = P3). 

12. The census of the nation, preparatory to the occupation of Ca- 
naan ; regulation of inheritances where the heirs are females ; the 
daughters of Zelophehad. 

Ch. 26 (exc. vs. 8-11 and 58-61 [==P3]); 27:1-11. 

13. Moses receives directions to prepare for his death ; Joshua com- 
missioned ; Reuben and Gad receive an inheritance east of Jordan. 

Deut. 32:48-52 (exc. glosses in vs. 49 and 52). The passage is a repe- 
tition of Num. 27:12-14 [P3 or R], this latter according to Dill, being 



74 PENT ATEUC HAL ANALYSIS. 

the copy; Num. 27:15-23; 32:1a (to -Jj), 2b,4a,20-22*,28-30,18f,40(?) 
(therewith probably Josh. 13:15-19,23-27*,28,29b,32. See Josh, in he.). 

14. [All itinerarium of the wilderness stations]. 
33:1-49 (exc. 8f*,14f*,16f*,40,49 [= B]). 

15. Moses' death. 

Deut. 1:3; 34:1a (to I^J), 5*,7a,8f. 



m. Joshua. 

1. Crossing the Jordan; passover at Gilgal [Achan's trespass]; the 
league with Gibeon. 

3:4(?); 4:13*,15-17,19; 5:10-12; 7:l,18b,25ba; 9:15b,17-21,27 in part. 

2. The inheritance of Eeuben and Gad. 
13:15-19,23-27*,28,29b,32 (vs. 20-22,29a,30f,33 = Kd). 

3. The distribution of the inheritances by lot ; Judah's inheritance ; 
a description of the territory of the tribe, giving boundaries, and enu- 
merating the cities and villages. 

18:1 ; 14:1-5 ; 15:1-12,20-44,48-62 (vs. 45-47 = K, v. 63 = JE inserted 
by Ed). 

4. The inheritance of Manasseh-Ephraim, of Benjamin, and of the 
other seven tribes ; similar tables of boundaries and cities, ending with 
a colophon. 

17:la,3f,7*,9*,10*; 16:4*, 5-9; 18:11a, 12-28 ; 19:la&-7,8b,10-16,17*, 
18-23*,24*,25-31*,32*,33-39*,40*,41-46*,48,51 (17:lb,2,8,ll-13 ; 16:1-3, 
10 ; 18:11b ; 19:laa,8a,9,27 in part, 47,49f = JE. 17:5f = B). 

5. Tlie cities of refuge and the cities of the priests and Levites 
appointed. 

20:l(?),2f ,6*,7-9 ; 21:1-40 (41-43 = D2) ; the portions of ch. 20 omitted 
are wanting in LXX. Well, and Kuen. consider LXX. more correct 
here and regard vs. 4f, etc., as late interpolations in a style imitating 
D. Dill, prefers the Massoretic text and assigns the additions to Bd. 
The LXX. found them superfluous and so omitted them. 

6. The altar built by the transjordanic tribes. Its intention is mis- 
understood by the rest of Israel and they march against Beuben, Gad 
and Manasseh ; explanation of the Gileadites and peaceful separation 
of the tribes. 

22:9f,13-15J9-21,30f,32a. . . .(vs. 1-6 = D ; vs. 7f = Bd including a 
trace of E in v. 8 ; vs. ll*,12,24-27,32*,33f = E ; vs. 16-20 and 22-29 in 
their present form — B ; the whole chapter thoroughly worked over by 
B and afterward a second time by Bd). 



PENT ATEUC HAL ANALYSIS. 75 

B. THE EFHRADVim! NARRATIVE E. 

The first demonstrable appearance is in Gen. 20. Probable traces in cbs. 15 and 
14. Not Impossibly 4:17-34, and 6 :l-4, belong to E (Dill. m.. p. 617). 

I. Genesis. 

1. [Abram recaptures Lot from Chedorlaomer and is blessed by Mel- 
chizedek.] 

Ch. 14 = R (on a basis of E (?) exc. vs. 17 20 = R). 

2. The promise of Isaac. 

15:2* (traces in vs. 1,3,5,6 worked over by J and R). 

3. Sarah and Abimelech. 

Ch. 20 (exc. v. 18, and ninStJ^I DHDI^I in v. 14 = R). 

4. Birth of Isaac and expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael. 
21:6,8-21. 

5. Abraham's covenant with Abimelech at Beer-sheba. 
21:22-32a. 

6. The sacrifice of Isaac. 
22:l,2*,3-10,ll*,12f,14*,19 (vs. 15-18 = R). 

7. [Abraham's maraage with Keturah.] 
25:1-4 (V. 5 = J ; v. 6 = R). 

8. Birth of Jacob and Esau. 
25:25* ,27* (fragments). ' 

9. [Isaac in Gerar.] 
26:1*,2*,6. 

10. The blessing of Isaac ; Jacob defrauds Esau of the inheritance. 
27:1-45 in part. (Vs. 15,24-27,30a (to 2p^'' ilJO, 35-38 = J. Vs. 

21-23,30b,33f = E. 44b = 45aa, one J, the other E. Impossible to 
carry the analysis further). 

11. Flight to Ilaran ; Bethel ; Jacob's dream and vow. 
28:llf,17-22 (v. 19a(?) J and E ; 19b,21b = R). 

12. Jacob in Haran ; marriage with Leah and Rachel. 
29:l,15b-30 (exc. vs. 24,29 = P2 and v. 26 =- J). 

13. Birth of the tribe-fathers. 

30:l-3a,6,8,17-24(exc. 20b,22c,24b[= J],22a[= P2] and 21 [- R or J]). 

14. Jacob's service with Laban ; he returns from Aram ; pursuit 
of Laban and covenant on Mt. Gilead. 

30:26,28 (32-34 "hardly" E's); 31:2,4-17,19f,21*,22-24,26,28-45*,47*, 
51-54*; 32:1; (31:10,12, ^p^;^ in v. 45, v. 47 in part, 1 ntH '^JlH rUH 

and 1 nrn byr\ i); in vs. 5if, ni<rn navDn dni in v. 52, and 
DH^ax 'nbi< in V. 53 = R). 



76 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

15. The story of Mahanaim and Peniel ; encounter with Esau. 
32:2f,4* (in part), 14b-22,24,2o-32 ; 33:4*,5,lla (32:33 = E). 

16. Jacob's land purchase at Shechem; fulfills his vow at Bethel; 
death of Deborah and Eachel. 

33:19f*; 3o:l-4,6b-8,16-19a,20 (v. 6a = P2, '^{^ f|»^ J^IH in v. 6 
and on'? n^2 Kin in 19b, also vs. 21.22a = R). 

17. Joseph's prophetic dreams and the envy of his brethren ; Reuben 
seeks to save him from their conspiracy and restore him to his father ; 
he persuades the brethren to cast Joseph into a pit ; Midianites pass 
by, find Joseph, and kidnap him ; Reuben returning is in despair at not 
finding the child ; the brethren report his death. 

37:5-18a (exc. 5b 8c, VflK'? IH^^ IfiD^I in vs. 9,10a [LXX.] = R; 
vs. 12-14*; p^^n 'p'O'i^r^ in v. 14 =- R or J) 19,20,22,23f*.24,28*,29f, 
31f*,34f*,36 ; also p1{<"l )^r2t^^'\ in v. 21 (vs. 28c,35b = J ; 31f part 
E, part J). 

18. Joseph is brought to Egypt and sold to Potiphar, Pharaoh's head 
sheriff, who entrusts him with the care of the prison ; the dreams of 
Pharaoh's officers interpreted. 

39:4 in part, 6,21 in part ; 40:2,3a,4,5a,6-15a,16-23 (39:1 "Ifi^OID • • • 

D^na£on = R)- 

19. Joseph interprets Pharaoh's dream, and is made ruler of Egypt. 
Ch. 41 (exc. a few traces of J in vs. 14,18-22(?),34, and one part of 

the following doublets : 30b = 31 ; 35b ^ 35a ; 41 ,43b,44 = 40 ; 49 = 48 ; 
55.56a = 54b. 

20. The sons of Jacob go to Egypt to buy food ; Joseph meets them 
roughly and imprisons Simeon on pretence of their being spies; he 
demands that Benjamin be brought down ; Reuben pledges himself for 
Benjamin's safety. 

Ch. 42 (exc. 2a,4b,6, parts of 7, ^'2i< in 10-,27,28a*, and 38 [= J] ; 28b 
belongs after v. 35). 

21. Joseph reveals himself ; his brethren return to fetch Jacob. 
43:14* ,23c; 45:1-27 (exc. la,2,4b,5a,10 in part, 13f = J ; vs. 19-21*). 

22. Jacob migrates to Egypt. 

46:1 in part, 3f,5 in part (la,5b = J or R); 47:12, parts of 13-26* 
(13-26 = J on a basis of E, removed by R from after 41:55 and worked 
over). 

23. Jacob blesses Joseph and dies; death of Joseph. 
48:l,2a,9a,10b,llf,15f,20 in part, 21f ; 50:l-3(V),15-26 (exc. v. IS and 

parts of 21,24 [= J]) (in ch. 48 E is expanded by R through the addi- 
tion of 2b,9b,10a,13f,17-19,20b from J). 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 77 

n. Exodus. 

1. Oppression in Egypt; birth and youth of Moses. 
1:6,8-12,15-2:14 (exc. traces of J in 1:10,12,20; 2:14; also 1:21 and 

parts of 2:6f = J). 

2. Moses called at Horeb and commissioned to deliver Israel ; revela- 
tion of the name Yahweh. 

3:l-3*,4b-6,9-16*,18-22*. 

3. Moses returns to Egypt with the rod of God ; the demand made of 
Pharaoh. 

4:17,18,20b,21,28b,31aa; &:3f,6-8.10,lla,12-19,20f in part {4:22f = J, 
removed by E from before 10:28 ; 6:1 = E). 

4. The iive plagues of Egypt : blood, lice, hail, locusts and darkness. 
7:15 in part, 16 in part, 17b.20 in part, 18 in part, 21a,24 ; 8:16a,21- 

24a; 9:22,23a,24a,31f,35 ; 10:8-13a,14a,15 in part, 20,21-27; (in 7:15 

5. The destruction of the first-bom of Egypt and the exodus. 
11:1-3; 12:31-33,37b,38; 13:17-19 (21f*?). 

6. The passage through the Eed Sea ; Miriam's song. 

14:5 7 in part(?), 15 in part, 16 in part, 19a, 20 in part, 24 in part, 25a ; 
16:20f,l-19. 

7. [Marah] ; water from the rock at Horeb ; battle with Amalek ; 
Jethro's visit. 

15:22-26 (27 = P2); 17:3-6,8-16; 18:1-27 (exc. 2b [= E] and traces 
of J in 1,(5),9,10 ; the story last named is probably misplaced). 

8. The ten words [and the covenant] at Horeb. 
19:2b,3-8*,10-15,16 in part, 17-19*; 20:1-20* (vs. 9-11 = P2) ; then 

21-26; 24:3,4 (from iy) on), 5f,8a,ll,12 in part, 13f, and chs. 21-23, 
viz., the Book of the Covenant, an ancient code incorporated by E. 
(E removed it from after 24:14, its original position. The following 
glosses and interpolations by E should be eliminated : 22:20-23,24b,30 ; 
23:13,15,23-25,31b,33). 

9. The golden calf ; departure from Horeb ; the tent of meeting. 
31:18b; 32:15 in part, 16-19aa,25-29 ; 33:1-5 in part (in v. 5 the be- 
ginning, to ^i^'^^^ , then Qy^^f2 DyiV nHIH), 6*. . . .7-11. 

m. Numbers. 

1. The departure from Horeb, [Taberah; the manna and the quails 
in Qibroth Taawah]. 

10:33a; ll:l-3,7-9,10ba,30-35. 



78 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

2. Miriam and Aaron rebel ; arrival in Kadesh and sending of the 



12:1,2 in part, 3a,5 in part, 9-15 (mostly) (v. 16 = E); 13:17b in part, 
18,20 in part, 23f ,29-31,32 in part ; 14:lf in part, 23 in part, 24,25b,39- 
41 in part, 44 in part (14:11-23 = E). 

3. Eebellion of Datham and Abiram ; the earth swallows them up. 
Traces in 16:1-4 (e. g. lb, and parts of 2,3f), in 12-15 (e. g. 14a6,15b 

= E, 14aa,15a = J) and in 25-34 (28f ,32a = E, 30f,33a = J). 

4. Death of Miriam ; water from the rock in Kadesh ; embassy to 
Edom. 

20:lb,3a,4f,7,8 (first two words and ba), 9*,10b*,ll (v. 9 = E), 14-19,21. 

5. The brazen serpent ; Israel in the border of Moab ; conquest of 
the territory of Sihon. 

21:4-9 (exc. -1,1(1 ItlD in v. 4 = E), 12-18a,21-24 (LXX.) (18b-20 
and 25-32* = E, from another source [J(?)] ; 33-35 has been imported 
by Ed from Dt. 3:1-4). 

6. Balak and Balaam ; the involuntary blessing of the prophet hired 
to curse. 

22:2-21 (exc. 3a,4,5a,7a,17f and perhaps »JJ-|{< f|J< C^DH*! in v. 21 
[= J]), 36-41; 23:l-26,27f in part(?)-, 24:25('?) (23:28[27]-30 ; 24:20-24 
= E). 

7. The people sin at Baal-peor; Gad and Eeuben receive their lot; 
the cities of Jair. 

25:la,3,5 ; 32:2a,3,16f (20f in part(?)), 24,34-38 (39,41f(?)). 

rv. Deuteronomy. 

8. Directions for a sacrificial feast on Ebal ; charge to Joshua ; [the 
blessing of Moses]. 

27:5-7a (vs. l-3,9f = Di,4,7b,8 = Ed, 11-26 = Ed and E) ; 31:14f (vs. 
16-23 ; 32:1-44 = J) and ch. 33 (incorporated by E(?)). 

V. Joshua. 

In this book the problem of critical analysis is greatly complicated by the intro- 
duction of a new element. Pa has been extricated with comparative facility and 
unanimity. JE is still the main residuum, but according to all the critics, greatly 
expanded and worked over by Rd. Diilmann supposes the author of Deuteronomy 
to have supplied to his code a historical appendix, which constitutes, therefore, an 
independent source, taken up by Rd and combined with P2 and JE. The four docu- 
ments, three of them already united by R, were amalgamated and worked over by 
him. Kuen., Well., Bud., Kitt. attribute these Deuteronomic additions to D2 or 
Rd, the writer who incorporated Deuteronomy with JE and provided it with a his- 
torical introduction and appendix. The result is, in the opinion of all, such an 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 79 

obliteration of the characteristics of J and E by Rd, or so thorough an incorpora- 
tion of them into D2, that they are only traceable with difficulty and in a few 
passages. 

Dillmann assigns the following passages to JE in Josh. 1-12: Chs. 2-8:36 (37-30, 
31b(?)),- ch. 9 for the most part (9 :3-9a,ll-15a,16,33f) ; 10:1-11,16-37; 11:1,5-9. From 
this must be subtracted a verse or two for P2 (see P2 below) and some minor contri- 
butions of D and K<i. 

The portions assigned to D by Dill, in Josh. 1-12 are as follows: In general chs. 
l-3f; 5:1; 8:33,34f; 10:12-14,38-43; 11:10-23. From P2 come only 3:4 in part(?); 4:13 
in part, 15-17,19; 6:10-13; 7:l,18b,35in part; 9:15b,17-31, 27 in part. 

In chs. 13-24 P2 predominates. Dill, assigns to it 13:15-19,23-27a,38,29b,33; 14:1-5; 
15:1-12,30-44,48-62; 16:4 in part, 5-9; 17:la,3f,7 in part, 9 in part, 10 in part; 18:1,11a, 
13-28, ch. 19 for the most part; 20:2f,6in part, 7-9; 21:1-40; 22 :9f ,13-15,19-31,30f ,32a. 
This portion removed, the parts assignable to D according to Dill, are 13:1,7; 18:10b; 
21:41-22:6 and eh. 23. This element also being removed there remains f or JE 14: 
6-15 in part; 15:13-19; 16:1-3,10; 17:1-18 in part; 18:2-10,llb; traces in ch. 19 (specific- 
ally 19:39f); much of ch. 22 and ch. 24 for the most part. 

1. Crossing the Jordan ; the people circumcised by Joshua at Gilgal ; 
the " rolling away " of the reproach of Egypt. 

3:12; 4:la,4f,7b,9 ; 5:2f (exc. y]l^ and H^JJ^* in v. 2 [= Ed]), 8f 
(vs. 4-7 = Ed, cf. LXX.). 

2. The capture of Jericho. 

(5:13-15 = E or J) 6:1 (E or J, 4 in part*, 5f,7b,8f*,13*,15*,16a (17-19 
= E or J), 20b (21-25 = E or J) (touches in 3f.ll,14f = E ; vs. 2,17b, 
18 and 27 and the continued blowing of trumpets, 4,8f,13 = Ed). 

3. The capture of Ai and covenant with the Gibeonites. 
8:10-12,14 in part, 16 in part, 17 in part, 18,20b,26,30,31b ; 9:3-27 

(exc. 6b,7,9 in part, 10,14f,16 in part, 17-21,24f,27). (Ch. 7 for the 
most part = J. 8:lf,7b,8a,22b,27-29 and traces in 3,11,15,21,24; also 
9:lf,9 in part, 10,24f,27 in part = Ed; 8:13 and ^y mCOJD ^ v. 19 
= E). 

4. The battle of Gibeon. 

10:1-11,16-27 (vs. 12-14,15,28-43 = D ; vs. 8 and 25 and 1,2,6,7,19,24, 
26f in part = Ed). 

5. Settlement in the land, and inheritances of the tribes; Caleb 
receives Hebron ; the house of Joseph obtain a double portion ; they 
invade Gilead. 

14:6-15*; 15:13(?); 16:l-3(?); one of the two stories in 17:14-18 (14f 
= 16:14 in part, 17f) ; 19:49f ; 22:8*. 

6. Conclusion of E's history ; Joshua's charge to the people at She- 
chem ; the history briefly reviewed and Israel pledged to the service of 
Yahweh ; Joshua's death and burial. 

Ch. 24 (exc. If in part, 6-8 in part, 17-19 in part, lOf in part, 13 in 
part, 26a,31 = E and Ed). 



80 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

C. THE JUD^AN(?) NARRATIVE J. 
I. Genesis. 

1. The beginning of the world ; paradise ; the woman's transgression 
and the curse. 

2:4b-3:24 (exc. D\l':'}< after HIH* passim; 3:20 and perhaps 2:10- 

15 =: E). 

2. Adam's descendants [Cain and Abel(?)] ; a seven-linked geneal- 
ogy, the last link branching into three ; the song of Lamech ; [a frag- 
mentary ten-linked genealogy ending with Noah and his three sons('?)]. 

4:1-16 (misplaced(?); niH v. 1 = E), 17-24,25f ; 5:29 (J follows in 
17-24 an older source, possibly E). 

3. The sons of God and the daughters of men ; corruption of the earth. 
6:1-8 (exc. p-HH^ DJ1 v. 4, D'OtTH • • •• D1KD and ^ni<12 m 

V. 7 = E) ; J rests in 6:1-4, as also in 4:17-24, upon an older source, 
possibly E. 

4. [The deluge of forty days ; rescue of Noah and his family in the 
ark ; sacrifice of Noah and promise of Yahweh.] 

7:lf,3 in part, 4f,7*,10,12,16b,17,22*,23* ; 8:2b,3a,6-12,13b,20-22 (E = 
7:3a,7 in part, 8f,22f in part). 

5. [The peopling of the earth from the sons of Noah] ; Noah's vine 
culture and prophetic song concerning Shem, Japheth and Canaan. 

9:20-27, ISf; 10:8,10-12,13-19,21,25-30 (9:20-27 is from a special 
source. 10:9,24 and perhaps 14 in part and D^^VI ilDHJ^I i^ v. 19 
= E). 

6. The tower of Babel and the dispersion ; Abram and his kindred. 
ll:l-9,28b-30(exc. DHDD ")1^^D = R)- 

7. Abram called from his home ; his journey with Lot, halting at 
Shechem and Bethel ; separation from Lot and settlement at Mamre. 

12:l-4a,6-9 ; 13:2,5,7-lla,12 last clause, 13-18 (13:3f and l)^^ ^^^ 
in V. 1 = E). 

8. Yahweh's covenant with Abram. 

Traces in ch. 15 worked over by E; specifically, v. 4,9-18* (exc. 12- 

16 = E): E = v. 7f; Ed(?) = vs. (16) 19-21. 

9. The birth of Ishmael. 
16:2,4-14; 25:18b. 

10. Visit of three heavenly ones to Abram at Mamre ; promise of 
Isaac ; punishment of Sodom and Gomorrah ; origin of Moab and 
Ammon. 

18:1-19:38 (exc. 19:29 = P2). 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 81 

11. Birth of Isaac; [Abram's sojourn with the Philistines(?)] ; news 
of the descendants of Nahor ; Abram sets his house in order ; the stew- 
ard sent to the Nahorites to bring a wife for Isaac. 

21:la.2a.7,32b-34; 22:20-24 ; 25:5,llb,18a; ch. 24 (exc. v. 62 and 
IDJ^ rr\t* in V. 67a, and v. 67b == E). 

12. Isaac in Gerar ; [Abimelech takes Rebekah] ; the wells of the 
Negeb ; controversy with the Philistines and covenant at Beer-sheba ; 
birth and youth of Esau and Jacob. 

26:1b, first three words of v. 2,3a,7-14,16f,19-33 ; (the first three 
words of V. 1, V. 2 from lOJ*?*"! on, v. 6 = E ; 3b-5 = Rd ; "y'^J^ .... 
D^'^D^^ in la, and vs. 15 and 18 = harmonistic interpolations of R) ; 
25:21-34 (exc. 26e = P2 and traces of E in vs. 25 and 27). 

13. The blessing of Isaac ; Jacob supplants Esau. 

27:1-45 = JE and is composite, but only partially separable into J 
and E ; J ^ vs. (7),15,(20).24-27,30a (to 2p^» fliO, 35-38 and 44b or 
45aa and other portions not extricable, cf . E supra). 

14. Jacob's flight to Haran ; [the theophany at Bethel ;] his mar- 
riages and service with Laban. 

28:10,13-16,19a,(21b),(19b,21b = R) ; 29:2-15a,26,31-35 ; 30:3b,4f ,7f 
(4a and 9b R(?)),9-16,20b,22c,24b (v. 21 = R or J ; 22aa = P2(?)), 25-43 
(exc. 26,28 = E). 

15. Jacob's return from Aram-Naharaim ; pursuit of Laban; cove- 
nant on Mt. Gilead. 

31:1,3,21 in part, 25,27*,46*,48*-50 (46b,48a = R, from J elsewhere ; 
v. 47 gloss, or perhaps from E elsewhere). 

16. The story of Mahanaim and Peniel ; [Jacob wrestles with a 
divine being and receives a blessing and a new name;] crosses the 
Jabbok at Peniel and meets Esau in peace. 

32:4-14a,23; 83:1-16 (exc. 4*.5.11a = E ; 32:33 = R). 

17. Succoth ; Shechem and the rape of Dinah ; [Israel's departure ; 
immorality of Reuben ; the descendants of Esau]. 

33:17,18b; 34:2b,3,5,7,ll-13,19,25*,26,30f ; 35:21(?); 36:2f, 10,13,16-18, 
20-28(?) (these parts of ch. 36 removed by R from before 32:4. 33:18a ; 
84:la,2a,4,6,8-10,15(14)-17,20-24 = P2; v. 25b; 35:21(?),22a; 36:l,2a(?) 
and other portions of ch. 36 — R). 

18. Joseph Israel's favorite ; his brethren hate him and conspire to 
kill him ; Judah interposes and, as a caravan of Ishmaelites passes by, 
suggests that they sell him ; the Ishmaelites bring Joseph to Egypt. 

37:2b,3f,18b,21*,23 and 24 in part, 25-27,28 in part, 31f in part, 33,34f 
in part (cf. E's part supra). 
6 



82 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

19. The origin of Judah's families; his Canaanite aflQnities and 
wicked sons. 

Ch. 38. 

20. Joseph is bought of the Ishmaelites by "an Egyptian;" he is 
slandered by his master's wife and imprisoned. 

39:1 (exc. the portion identical with 37:36 [=R from E]), 2f,4 in 
part, 5f ,7-20,21 in part, 22f . 

21. Joseph made lord of Egypt ; the famine. 

40:1.3b,5b,15b; and traces in 41:14,18-22(?), v. 34,30b or 31,35b or 
35a,41,43b,44 or v. 40,49 or 48,55,56a or 54b. 

22. Joseph's brethren come to buy food ; returning, at the lodging 
place, they find their money in their sacks ; the food consumed, they 
make a second visit ; Judab becomes surety for Benjamin. 

42:2a,4b,6, parts of 7, '^^J^ in v. 10,27,28a; 43:1-3; 42:38; 43:4-13, 
15-23ab,24-34. 

23. Joseph's hospitality ; the cup hidden in Benjamin's sack ; the 
brethren brought back ; Judah offers himself for Benjamin. 

Ch. 44. 

24. Joseph reveals himself and sends for his father ; Israel goes down 
to Egypt ; is met by Joseph in Goshen ; Joseph and five of his brethren 
petition Pharaoh for leave to occupy Goshen. 

4:5:la,2,4b,5a,10 in part, 13f,28; 46:28-47 :5a,6b. 

25. [Joseph's administration in Egypt during the famine ; Israel fed.] 
47:12-26,27 in part. 

26. Jacob's charge to Joseph ; [blessing of Ephraim and Manasseh] ; 
blessing of all the sons ; death and burial in Canaan ; [Joseph's con- 
tinued kindness]. 

47:29-31; 48:2b,9b,10a,13f,17 19,20b; 49:lb-27 (incorporated), 33 in 
part; 50:(l-3(?)),4-ll,14,(18a,21 inpart(?)). 

n. Exodus. 

1. Israel in Egypt; birth and youth of Moses; his flight to Midian 
and marriage there ; the theophany at Sinai ; Moses commissioned to 
deliver Israel and equipped with signs for the people and for Pharaoh. 

Traces in 1:10,12,20; v. 21; 2:6f in part, and a trace in v. 14; vs. 
15-22; 3:3 in part, 4a,7f,16 in part, 17; 4:1-16 (in 2:18 insert p ^^H 
before ^i^));-)). 

2. Moses returns to Egypt; struggle with Yahweh at the lodging 
place and circumcision of Moses' son ; he [meets Aaron and] reports to 
the elders of Israel ; Moses and the elders go to petition Pharaoh. 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 83 

2:23ab; 4:19,20a,22-26,27-29a,30,31 in part; 5:lf,5,9,llb,21-23 in part 
(6:1 = R; 4:22f misplaced). 

3. The seven plagues of Egypt : the water turned to blood ; frogs ; 
flies ; murrain of cattle ; hail ; locusts ; death of the first-born. 

7:14,16,25,26-29; 8:4-lla,16-28 (exc. 16a,21-24a = E) ; 9:1-7,13,(14- 
16 = R),17-21,23b,24b,25a,26-30,34b ; 10:la,(lb,2,3a = R),3b-7,13b,14b, 
15a,16-19,28f; 11:4-8; 12:29f,34-36,38f. 

4. The exodus ; [laws of mazzoth, passover, and the first-born ;] de- 
parture under guidance of the pillar of fire and cloud, and passage 
through the Eed Sea. 

12:21-28; 13:3-16,21f*; 14:5-7 in part, 9 in part, 10-14,19b,20 in 
part, 21b,24a,25b,27 in part, 30f . 

5. [Manna given ;] water from the rock at Massa-Meribah. 

16:3 in part, 4f,15a,19f in part, 21 ,25-30 .35a (all, however, removed 
from before Num. 11 and worked over by E or Rd) ; ] 7:2,7. 

6. The theophany to the people at Sinai ; [the covenant before the 
mount ; Moses goes up and remains forty days in the mount ; idolatry 
of the people ; Moses' intercession] ; renewal [celebration] of the cov- 
enant. 

19:3-6 in part, 9,11 in part (13b(?)), 16 in part, 18 in part, 20-22,25 
(20:18 in part, 20 in part(?)); 24:lf,4aN,7,8b,9f,ll in part, 12 in part, 
18b; 32:1-14,19-24,30 34* (35 = R); 33:l-5*,12-23*; 34:1-28; (19:23f 
= R; 34:10-27 was removed by R from after 24:2. After 34:9 fol- 
lowed originally 33:14-17, then 34:28. Vs. 11-26 are a mere extract 
from the Book of the Covenant). The traces (of J(V)) in ch. 18 and 24: 
3-8 are neglected in iii., p. 624. 

m. Numbers. 

1. Departure from Sinai; Hobab goes with Israel as guide; the 
Mosaic foiinula at the moving or resting of the ark ; Kibroth-hattaa- 
wah ; Israel lusts for flesh ; seventy elders appointed. 

10:29-32.... 33b,35f; 11:4-6,10* (exc. nj^^O HW flK nim = E), 
11-29 (the two stories of the murmuring for flesh and the elders, not 
originally together, united by R). 

2. [Rebellion of Miriam and Aaron ; Kadesh ; spies sent out ; the 
people's murmuring and attack on Amalek.] 

Traces in ch. 12 (vs. 2,4f ,9 in part) ; 13:17-20 in part (cf. E), 22,27f ; 
14:lb,2 in part, 3f(?),8f,28(?),30,39-45 (exc. 39 in part, 41 in part, 44 in 
part = E). 



84 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

3. [Rebellion of Dathan and Abiram ; Edom's opposition(?)]. 
16:lb,2-4 in part, 12-15 in part, 25-34 in part (see E in loc.)\ 20:20(?). 

4. Attack of the king of Arad (misplaced) ; [perhaps a fragment of a 
list of encampments ; conquest of territory in Moab]. 

21 :l-3,18b-20( ?) ,25-32( V). 

5. Balak and Balaam ; Israel blessed by the prophet of Yahweh. 
22:3a,4,5a,7a,17f, >^p{^ JIN dn*") in v. 21 (V), 22-34, 35a; 24:1-18 

(19) ; (22:35b [= 21b] ; 23:28[27]-30 ; 24:20[19]-24 = R). 

6. Trespass of Israel with the Moabite women ; Gad and Reuben's 
settlement in the trans-Jordanic district (inheritance of the sons of 
Machir and Jair misplaced) ; warning to extirpate Canaanite idols. 

25:lb,2,4 (32:5-13,20f in part, 23 25-27,31)* ; perhaps 32:39,41f; 33: 
52f,55f. 

rV. Deuteronomy. 

1. [Warning to Israel by Moses before his death and song of Moses] ; 
Moses' death. 
31:14f (traces), 16-23; 32:1-44; 34:lb,4. 

V. Joshua.* 

1. [Israel crosses the Jordan]; the monument in Gilgal of stones 
from Jordan ; appearance of the captain of Yahweh 's host to Joshua]. 

4:3bc,6,7a,8,10*,ll*,20* ; 5:13-15. 

2. The capture of Jericho [and trespass and punishment of Achan]. 
6:3*,7a,10,ll*,14,15a,16b,20aa, (3f,ll,14f = R, 2,17b,18,27 and parts 

of 4,8f,13 = Rd) ch. 7* (exc. vs. 24f [= Rd] and traces of R). 

3. The capture of Ai. 

8:3-9,14 in part, 15f ,17 in part, 19-22a,23-25 ; (8:lf ,7b,8a,22b,27-29 
and traces in vs. 3,11,15,21,24 = Rd; v. 13, and n* HltD^D in v. 19 
= R). 

4. The covenant with the Gibeonites; Israel deceived; the Gibeon- 
ites enslaved. 

9:6b,7,14,15aa, 16 in part (vs. lf,9 in part, 10,24f ,27 in part = Rd). 

5. The occupation of the land ; settlement of Caleb and Othniel ; the 
Jebusites ; Gezer ; the cities which held out against Manasseh ; the 
Danites capture Laish ; traces of a description of the inheritances. 

18:2-10,llb(?)(or = E; v. 7 = Rd); 15:13*,14-19; 15:63; 16:10; 17: 
12f ; 19:47 ; the portions of chs. 16f and 19 excluded from P2. 



For the general analysis of Joshua in Dill, see under E, p. 78. 



PENT ATEUC HAL ANALYSIS. 85 

6. [Dismissal of Eeuben and Gad] ; a summary of the conquest of 
their several portions of territory by the tribes independently. 

Irrecoverable traces of J underlying ch. 22. Judg. 1 for the most 
part. 



n. PRIESTLY AND "PROPHETIC" CODES IN THE HBXA- 
TEUCH. 

The Law of Holiness, P'. 

Leviticus 17-S6, and kindred passages. 

The earliest fragment held by any of the critics to belong to this 
primitive priestly code is 

1. [a Sabbath ordinance.] 

Ex. 31:13ac,14a (a " resemblance " to Pi is suggested by Dill, in Ex. 
6:6-8 ; 12:12b and 29:46 ; the fragment in 31:13f introduced by E). 

2. [The law of sin-offerings, in trespasses against God and against 
one's neighbors.] 

Lev. 5:1-6. 21-24a (in II., p. 373f, pi, or at least some source prior to 
P2, is recognized as lying at the basis of Lev. 2 [the law of meal-ofEer- 
ings], 6:1-7,21-26 [as above + vs. 7 and 24b-26], and chs. 6 and 7 [the 
law of the six kinds of offering]. In the later volume only 5:l-6,21-24a 
is ascribed to Pi; chs. 6 and 7 contain ancient toroth, possibly Pi's, in 
the recension of P^). 

2. [The law of clean and unclean beasts : defilement by eating and 
from the touch.] 

Fragments incorporated with P2 in Lev. 11:1-23,41-47 (11:24-40 and 
the basis of the rest of the chapter belongs to P2. In ii., p. 480f, 11: 
l-23,41-44a = Pij ; 11:24-40 and 44b-47 chiefly from Pi in the recen- 
sion of P2. This view is modified in iii., pp. 633 and 639f). 

4, [(V)Laws concerning uncleanness ; uncleanness after childbirth ; 
leprosy.] 

The phrase tJ>»J< ^»J^ in Lev. 15:2 leads Dillmann to infer that the 
ancient toroth lying at the basis of chs. 12-15 may have been derived 
from Pi in the recension of P2, or PS, especially in ch. 13f. 

5. The blood of beasts ; slaughtering of animals to be at the central 
sanctuary •, sacrifices to satyrs, or to any God but Yahweh forbidden ; 
the blood is the life, is sacred, and must not be eaten ; the blood of 
beasts taken in hunting to be poured on the ground and covered ; eat- 



86 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

ing of animals torn of beasts or dying of disease makes unclean till 
evening. 
Lev. 17 (exc. vs. 4-6,7-9,13,15 = P2, or were worked over by him). 

6. The law of prohibited degrees ; different kinds of immorality and 
the sacrifice of children to Molech forbidden : a torah introduced and 
terminated by a special exhortation. 

Lev. 18. 

7. A version of the Ten Words and a Code in seven parts. 

Lev. 19:l-8,9-18,19f,23-37 (21f, or 20-22 = E. Traces of P2 in vs. 
2a,8b,34a,35b).' 

8. The worship of Molech forbidden ; the penalty for cursing parents ; 
prohibition of various forms of impurity ; a warning against the impur- 
ity of the Canaanites and prohibition of witchcraft. 

Lev. 20 (exc. traces of P2 in vs. 2,13,27b). 

9. Heathen mourning rites and immorality forbidden ; directions 
for " the priest great above his brethren ;" a blemish debars from the 
officiating priesthood. 

Lev. 21 (exc. traces of P2 in vs. 10,17 and 21-24). 

10. The cleanness of priests and their families; offerings must be 
unblemished; animals for sacrifice must not be killed before the 
eighth day. 

Lev. 22 (exc. P2 in vs. 3f, 10-13, 25). 

11. The law of the feast of mazzoth, of Pentecost, and of tabernacles. 
Lev. 23:9-20 (traces of P2 in vs. 11-14), 22,39-43 (P2 in v. 39), (vs. 

1-8,21,23-88,44 = P2). 

12. The penalty of blasphemy and bloodshed ; the lex talionis. 

Lev. 24:15-23 (exc. vs. 16 and 23, and traces in v. 22 = PS) ; vs. 1-14 
also = P2. 

13. The sabbatical year [and year of jubilee] ; idols and maggebhoth 
forbidden. 

Lev. 25:18-22, and traces throughout the chapter; 26:lf (25:1-7,8- 
17,23-55 = P2 on a basis of Pi). 

14. A paraenetic conclusion to the " Law of Holiness " by the com- 
piler : promises of blessing in case of obedience, and of plagues and 
curses in case of disobedience ; the captivity foretold ; the land to lie 
fallow during the exile and " enjoy her Sabbaths ;" repentance in the 
land of captivity will restore Yahweh's favor ; colophon to the code. 

Lev. 26:3-46. 

15. [(?)The law of the ordeal for jealousy; the water of bitterness 
mixed with the dust of the sanctuary conveying a curse.] 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 87 

ISTum. 5:11-31(';') (a " resemblance" to Pi in Num. 3:13). 
16. [The holy trumpets ; fringes, cords and borders to be worn upon 
the garment ; (?)the heave-offering of the first dough.] 
Num. 10:9f ; 16:38(37)-41 and perhaps vs. 18(17)-21. 

The Code of the Priestly Lawbook, P^. 

Exodus 25— Numbers 36. 

1. The pattern shown in the mount; directions to Moses for the 
construction of the tabernacle and its furniture. 

a) A contribution to be made by the people for the purposes of the 
sanctuary. 

Ex. 25:1-9. 

b) The pattern of the ark of the covenant and the cherubim ; of the 
table of shew-bread ; of the golden candlestick ; conclusion of the sec- 
tion. 

Ex. 25:10-22,23-30,31-38,39,40 (v. 37 misplaced(?)). 

c) Details for the construction of the tabernacle; for the veil and 
the furniture. 

Ex. 26:1-30,31-37. 

d) The pattern of the altar ; of the fore-court of the tabernacle. 
Ex. 27:1-8,9-19 (vs. 20,21 = R from PS elsewhere). 

2. Aaron and his sons appointed to the priesthood. 

a) The priestly garments ; the ephod ; the breast-plate ; the mantle ; 
the frontlet, tunic, turban and girdle. 

Ex. 28:1-5,6-14,15-30,31-35,36-40. 

b) [Directions for the investiture of Aaron and his sons; linen 
breeches.] 

Ex. 28:41-43. 

3. Directions for the consecration and installation of Aaron and his 
sons in the priest's ofiice. 

Ex. 29:1-35. 

4. [An atonement for the altar; an epilogue promising the divine 
presence in the tent of meeting.] 

29:36f, 43-46 (vs. 38-42 = R, from P2 in Num. 28; in iii., p. 636, 
from Num. 8). 

5. [The divine appointment of Bezalel and Oholiab to the workman- 
ship.] 

31:1-6 (30:1-10(?),11-16 ; 31:12-17 = R, from elsewhere in P2, includ- 
ing a trace of Pi in 31:12-17. The rest, viz., 30:17-21,22-28 ; 31:7-11 

= P3). 



88 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

6. Moses receives the tables of the testimony and descends from 
Sinai ; [his shining face.] 

Ex. 31:18a; 32:15a; 34:29-32 (34:33-35 = E). 

7. Execution of the directions given to Moses; the cloud fills the 
sanctuary. 

According to the critics Ex. 35-40 is nearly, or quite, all P^. Of our 
authorities Dill, alone traces a nucleus of P2 in 35:l-3,4f,20f ; 36:2-6; 
40:lf,34-38, and the basis of Num. 9:15-23 and of Num. 7. Well, and 
Kuen. assign the entire mass to P3. With regard to Lev. 1-8 there is 
equal harmony. Well, and Kuen. assign all of chs. 1-7 to P3 and all 
but the basis of ch. 8. Dill, admits (iii., p. 641) that Lev. 1-7 in its 
present form and present position cannot belong to P2 and further 
admits the working over P2 has received in ch. 8. The laws of different 
kinds of offerings in Lev. 1-7 were inserted by P3, but they contain, 
beside the fragments of Pi already noted (o:l-6,21-24a), some truly 
ancient toroth (e. g. 6:2-6), and in general there are no special reasons 
for denying that chs. 1-3 were derived from P2. Ch. 4 is a late substi- 
tute for P2's law, now perhaps found in Num. 15:22-31, whereas Lev. 
5:14-19 seems to be from P2 and derived from the position now occu- 
pied by the late substitute Num. 5:5-10. The proper position for these 
fragments Dill, holds to be approximately that now occupied by Num. 
7, where the fragment Num. 8:1-4 still remains in situ. 

a) [A Sabbath ordinance ; the free-will offering taken ; the work 
committed to Bezalel and Oholiab.] 

Ex. 35:l-3,4f,20f; 36:2-6. 

b) [The tabernacle erected and occupied ; the oblations of the 
princes of the tribes ; the golden candlestick, its pattern, and the pro- 
vision for lighting; oil required ; the shew-bread ; the lamp lighted]; 
the cloud on the tabernacle as the signal for marching and encamp- 
ing 

Ex. 40:lf, 34-38; the basis of Num. 7:1-89 (specifically v. 89); Ex. 
25:37; 27:20f; 37:20f ; Lev. 24:1-9; Num. 8:1-4; the basis of Num. 
9:15-23 (Num. 7 and 9:15-23 in its present form = PS ; the rest = frag- 
ments scattered by E). 

8. Aaron and his sons consecrated to the priesthood. 
Lev. 8*. 

9. The inauguration of the ritual ; Aaron offers the first sacrifices 
and blesses the people. 

Lev. 9. 

10. The sacrilege and death of Nadab and Abihu; [directions to 



PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 89 

Aaron, Eleazar and Ithamar] ; the priests' dues of the meal offerings 
to be consumed beside the altar. 
Lev. 10:1-5,6-11,12-15 (vs. 8-11 abbreviated by R; vs. 16-20 = R). 

11. Fragments of a code of laws concerning offerings, ritual, and 
ceremonial cleanness, the whole now displaced by Lev. (11) 12-15 
(a collection of laws concerning cleanness assigned by all the critics to 

P3). 

a) [The continual burnt offering.] 
Ex. 29:38-42. 

b) [The law of burnt offerings from the herd, from the flock, of fowls ; 
meal offerings burnt ; the same baked ; the same of first fruits ; peace 
offeiings from the herd ; from the flock ; from the goats.] 

Lev. 1:1-9,10-13,14-17; 2:1-3,4-13,14-16; 3:1-5,6-11,12-17. 

c) [The law of sin offering ; of trespass offering.] 

Num. 15:22-31 (v. 31*) ; Lev. 5:14-19 (each of these passages is dupli- 
cated by P3, the former in Lev. 4, the position formerly occupied by 
Num. 15:22-31, the latter in Num. 5:5-10; Lev. 5:1 6[7],21-24a[26] = 
Pi ; vs. 7[8]-13,20[24b-26] = R, or P2). 

d) [Conclusion of P2's law of offerings : the meal offerings which 
must accompany different kinds of burnt offering.] 

Num. 15:1-16. 

e) [The law of cleanness : beasts that may and may not be eaten ; 
uncleanness from the touch of certain beasts' carcasses; creeping 
things abominable ; colophon.] 

Lev. 1 1:24-40, 44b-47 and the basis of the rest of the chapter, Num. 
5:1-4 (Lev. 6f,ll, except the portions just indicated, and 12-15 are 
from the hand of P3, who presents herein ancient toroth worked over in 
the place of PS's law, which in the case of Num. 5:1-4 was displaced 
by Lev. 12-15). 

12. How and when the holy place shall be entered; the ritual of 
atonement for Aaron and his house ; for the sanctuary and people ; the 
goat for Azazel ; the day of atonement appointed. 

Lev. 16 (abbreviated by R after vs. 2 and 28 to transform it from a 
general direction for the purification of the sanctuary when accidentally 
defiled, to a periodical ceremony. Prom R come also the glosses JJ^Ip 
njn on and ;i^']pn nn i^ vs. 4 and 32). ' 

13. The appointment and ritual of the sacred feasts : passover ; 
mazzoth; new-year (ecclesiastical); the day of atonement ; tabernacles. 

Lev. 23:1-8,21,23-38,44 and traces in vs. 11-14 and 39. (For frag- 
ments of P2 in chs. 17-22 see imder Pi, p. 85). 



90 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

14. The law of blasphemy on the occasion of cursing in the camp. 

Lev. 24:10-14,16,23, and a trace in v. 22. 

16. [The sabbatical year; the year of jubilee; the redemption of 
inheritances ; regulations for the conveyance of real estate ; usury ; the 
Hebrew must not be enslaved : if sold to a foreigner, he must be re- 
deemed by the next of kin.] 

Lev. 25:1-7,8-17,23-31,35-55 = P2 on a basis of Pi (vs. 32-34 = P3). 

16. [The law of vows ; the redemption of persons dedicated ; of cattle ; 
of a house ; of a field ; the firstling already dedicated •, no devoted thing 
may be redeemed ; redemption of the tithe ; colophon.] 

Lev. 27. 

17. Directions for the taking of a census of the people ; results of 
the census ; [the order of marching and encampment]. 

Num. 1. (Ch. 2 an interpolation by P3, the material drawn from P2 
and originally standing in Num. 10:13-28.) 

18. [The toledoth of Aaron and Moses ; the Levites assigned to 
Aaron and his sons as servants of the sanctuary ; the census of the 
Levites.] 

Num. 3:1-39 (vs. 32 and 36 worked over, and vs. 24-26,29-31,36 38 
taken from ch. 4 ; vs. 40-51 = PS). 

19. [Directions to number the sons of Kohath ; census of the three 
families of Levi, Kohath, Gershon and Merari.] 

Num. 4:1-3,34-48 (vs. 4-33,49 = PS). 

20. [T?he consecration of the Levites.] 

Num. 8:5-10,13b,14,12,13a,15a,20,22. (Vs. 11, 15b-19,21, 23-26 = P3. 
Num. 5:1-4 ; 6:22-27, the basis of ch. 7 and 8:1-4 are fragments of P2 
belonging in a different connection and have already been assigned to 
their original position [according to Dill.]. Num. 5:5-10 = P3 [cor- 
responding to P2 in Lev. 5:14-19]; 5:11-31 ; 6:1-21 = P3 on a basis of 
ancient toroth.) 

21. [An after-passover for the ceremonially unclean.] 

A brief notice underlying Num. 9:1-14 (vs. 15-23 = P2 belonging in 
a different connection ; see v. 7b). 

22. Directions concerning the silver trumpets ; the journey resumed 
from Sinai. 

Num. 10:l-4,6b,8 (v. 9f = Pi ; vs. 5,6a,7 from the hand [P2 or E] 
which incorporated v. 9f), llf (vs. 13-28 = P3). 

23. [Stoning of the Sabbath-breaker.](?) 

Num. 15:32-36(?) (this passage perhaps = PS ; the priestly elements 
of chs. 11-14 are given in the preceding article ; 15:1-16,22-30 are 



PENTATEVCHAL ANALYSIS. 91 

fragments of the displaced law of offerings of P'-^; v. 31 = E; vs. 17- 
21 = Pi). 

24. Eank and functions of the priests and Levites ; the priests' dues ; 
tithes for the Levites ; the tithe of the tithe a heave-offering. 

Num. 18 (exc. v. 16 [= E]). (Chs. 16 and 17— mutiny of Korah; 
plating of the altar with the censers of Korah's company ; the plague 
arrested by Aaron's intercession ; budding of Aaron's rod — are treated 
in the preceding article ; 17:6-28 is unanimously assigned to P2,) 

25. Directions for the distribution of the inheritances ; boundaries of 
Canaan ; a prince from each tribe appointed to divide the inheritances. 

Num. 33:50f ,54 ; 34:1-15 (vs. 13-15*), 16-29 (33:52f ,55f = J). (Num. 
19:1-33:49 has been treated in the preceding article, with exception of 
the four legal chapters, 19 and 28-30. These four chapters are unani- 
mously assigned to P3, with the qualification in Dillmann's case that 
ch. 19 has a basis of ancient toroth like those underlying Lev. 6f ; chs. 
26f (P2) and 31 (P3) are not readily separable from the legislative group 
at the end of Numbers, but have already been considered in the former 
article.) 

26. Appointment of the cities of the Levites, and the cities of refuge ; 
the law of asylum for the cities of refuge. 

Num. 35. 

27. Final adjustment of the inheritance of females; the daughters 
of Zelophehad marry cousins ; [colophon]. 

Num. 36 

The Code of the " Prophetic " Hexateuch.* 

Deuteronomy. 

Deuteronomy spontaneously divides itself into two parts, a) the code, 
properly so-called, chs. 12-26, and b) the chapters preceding and fol- 
lowing this nucleus of legislative material, which serve the purpose of 



* In speaking- of Deuteronomy as "the" code of the "prophetic" portion of the 
Hexateuch, it must be premised that the expression is not literally applicable. 
Deuteronomy, according to all the critics, is the work of an author later than either 
J or E, and in the sense of separate origin may be said to be independent of the 
"prophetic" authors, but in the matter of literary material "independent" is the 
last word to use. The work not only occupies the stand-point of JB, but professedly 
and intentionally reproduces what in some respects has a better claim to the title: 
"the code of the 'prophetic' Hexateuch," viz., the " Book of the Covenant" (Ex. 
20-23. See preceding article), which according to Kuenen occupied in the original 
document of E the same relative position which Deuteronomy subsequently ob- 
tained in the Hexateuch. If we pass over thus the claims of the Book of the Cove- 
nant it is merely because D, from his position of literary dtpendence upon both J 



92 PENT ATEUC HAL ANALYSIS. 

connecting it with the Ilexateuch history. As there is practically no 
disagreement among the critics concerning the former division it will 
be needless to discuss it in detail. It consists of 

a) Laws addressed to the people for their guidance after the occupa- 
tion of Canaan, concerning : a single place of worship ; the blood of 
beasts shed elsewhere than at the altar ; false gods, and enticement to 
worship them by prophet or fellow-citizens ; the idolatrous city to be 
devoted ; heathen mourning rites and the eating of unclean beasts for- 
bidden ; tithes for the sanctuary, and hospitality for the Levite ; the 
year of release ; compassion for the poor and the enslaved ; firstlings ; 
passover, the feast of weeks, and tabernacles ; the administration of 
justice; [idolatry and a blemished sacrifice forbidden;] the priests a 
court of appeal in the admhiistration of justice ; [the king's conduct ;] 
provision for the Levites ; heathen practices forbidden ; the prophet to 
be the guide in religious matters; manslaughter and the cities of 
refuge ; removal of the ancient landmark forbidden ; the law of testi- 
mony and lex talionis ; military provisions ; exemption from military 
duty; mitigation of the severities of war and siege, except against 
Canaanites ; expiation of untraceable bloodshed ; management of 
domestic affairs; bodies of executed criminals must be promptly 
buried ; various regulations of social life ; treatment of mutilated per- 
sons and foreigners ; cleanness in the camp ; various humane regula- 
tions ; divorce ; brief injunctions for justice, humanity and morality in 
various spheres; the levirate ; impure action and fraud forbidden; 
vengeance must be taken on Amalek ; gratitude to God inculcated in 
the offering of first-fruits ; the tithe of the third year for the Levite, 
stranger, widow, and orphans ; a prayer and confession and form of 
sacred covenant. 

Deut. 12-26 (16:21-17:7 perhaps belongs after 12:31 and was mis- 
placed by Rd). 

b) The historical introductions and appendices to the code of D (chs. 
1-11,27-34). With regard to these introductions and appendices there 
is also but slight difference of opinion ; all the critics are agreed that 
the more original introduction to the code is chs. 5-11, and all but 
Well, attribute it to the same hand as chs. 12-26 (Del. also might per- 



and E for historical and legal material alike, deserves to represent the "prophetic" 
law in contrast with the priestly. His version of the code, Ex. 20-23, although 
freely expanded, and in some particulars modified, is yet in the spirit a thoroughly 
faithful reproduction of what the author regards as the torah of Moses, viz., the 
writings already designated as " prophetic." These statements are In aooordance 
■with the unanimous opinions of the critics. 



PENTATEUQHAL ANALYSIS. 93 

haps be excepted, who considers the basis of chs. 12-26 Mosaic ; see 
(x.)). A second introduction is formed by 1:6-4:40. 

1 . [A few words to designate the place of Moses' declaration of the 
law in the general history; Israel reminded of the departure from 
Horeb ; of the appointment of officers to assist Moses ; of Kadesh- 
barnea and the sending of the spies ; of the murmuring of the people 
and their presumptuous attack upon the Amorites ; of the journey by 
the way of the Red Sea and peaceful passage through Edom ; of the 
similar treatment of Moab, and of the generation which died in the 
wilderness ; of the capture of the territory of Sihon king of the Amor- 
ites, and the battle of Jahaz ; of the capture of Bashan from Og, and 
settlement of Reuben, Gad and half-Manasseh there ; of Moses' fore- 
warning of his death, and the direction to give a charge to Joshua ; an 
appeal to the people to obey the law now to be given ; a reminder of 
Baal-peor and Horeb, and forewarning against the corrupt worship of 
the Canaanites; disobedience will be followed by exile, but sincere 
repentance in captivity will regain the favor of God, and bring to his 
remembrance the covenant, as when he brought them out of Egypt.] 

Deut. 1:6-4:40* (exc. 2:10-12,20-23 ; 3:10f,13b,14 = Rd from D ; also 
l:lf,4f ; 4:41-43 = Rd from D ; 1:3 = P2). 

2. [(Superscription of the code) ; Moses rehearses the Ten Words of 
the covenant, and the story of the theophany at Horeb ; exhortation to 
keep the commandment ; to love Yahweh ; to be faithful to his wor- 
ship ; to observe the law and teach it to the children ; the total de- 
struction of the Canaanites and of the instruments of their worship 
enjoined ; faithful observance of the commandment to be pure from 
Canaanitism will ensure the all-powerful help of Yahweh ; exhortation 
to remember God's dealing and to beware of vain glorying ; exhortation 
to humility in view of the fact that their position as God's chosen peo- 
ple is not due to their own righteousness ; the incidents of the golden 
calf, of Taberah, Massah and Kibroth-hattaawah recalled as examples 
of their unworthiness ; (the story of the renewal of the covenant and 
the departure from Horeb recalled ;) a renewed exhortation to love and 
obey Yahweh supported by reference to the wonders in Egypt and at 
the Red Sea, and the death of Dathan and Abiram ; a blessing prom- 
ised for obedience ; the blessing and curse to be set before the people 
on Ebal and Gerizim, as they enter the land.] 

Deut. 4:44-11:32 (exc. 4:44-49; 5:5,23; 6:3; 7:22; 9:4,20; 10:19 = 
Rd; 9:25-10:11 belongs in the introduction and was removed thence 
by Rd ; 11:29-31 was removed by him from Di's appendix). 



94 PENTATEUCHAL ANALYSIS. 

3. [A hortatory conclusion to the code ; the blessings in detail which 
will follow obedience ; the curses in detail which will follow disobe- 
dience ; colophon to the code.] 

Deut. 27:9f ; 28:1-68* (27:1-3 = Ed from D elsewhere [see below]; 
vs. 5-7a = E; 4,7b,8,n-13,14-26 = Ed ; 4:1-40 and 11:29-31 belong 
after ch. 26 and were removed by Ed). 

4. [Direction to write the law upon plastered stones; Moses fore- 
warns the people of his death and encourages them under leadership 
of Joshua to pursue the conquest ; he writes the law and delivers it to 
the priests ; he makes a final farewell address ; an adjuration to all the 
assembly to abhor strange gods, and warning against the wrath of Yah- 
weh ; a promise that when the curse has been realized true repentance 
in exile will bring restoration ; the law is brought near, that its observ- 
ance may be their life ; Moses' death and burial.] 

Deut. 27:lb-3 (instead of la [= Ed] read ^Jptn-f)}^ Hti^D ^T^ 
'^N")^^); 31:l-8,9-13,24-26a,28f ; 32:45-47; 28:69-30:20 in part, and 
traces in 34:(lb)5f,llf ; (28:69-30:20 is an expansion by Ed of an origi- 
nal address by Di, of which 30:11-20 and traces in ch. 4 are preserved 
intact ; 31:14f,23 = E ; 16-22 = J ; 26b,27 and 30 = Ed ; 32:1-44 = J ; 
vs. 48-52 = P2; ch. 33 = a poem incorporated by E ; 34:1a [to I^J], 
V. 5 in part, 7a,8f = P2 ; ♦ pj^^H- • • -lilN^l^l in v. lb and v. 4 = J ; 
V. 10 = E ; last four words of v. 1, vs. 2f,7b of uncertain origin). 



PART II 



The text of Genesis in the Revised 
Version, presented in varieties of type 
to exhibit the Theory of Documentary 
Sources ; with notes explanatory of the 
phenomena of redaction, and critical mar- 
ginal references. 



ABBREVIATIONS 

AND 

TYPOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS. 



J. Judaeaii prophetic writer, circ. 800 B. C, in this 
type. 

E. Ephraimite prophetic writer, circ. 750 B. C, in this 
type. 

P. Author of the Priestly legal-historical work, circ. 4^0 B. C, 
in this type. 

J^ Editorial additions to J in this type, or smaller. 

E^ and JE. Editorial additions to E and to JE in this type, or 
smaller. 

R. Editorial additions to P and to JEP in this type, or smaller. 

Words supplied enclosed in [ ]. Displaced material between 

— — . Missing material indicated by [ . . . . ]. Cf.=compare ; 

Ct. contrast ; f. following verse ; ff. following verses, (i), (2), (3), etc., 
refer to Appendix II. Hebrew notes. 



(96) 



PART II. 
The First Book of Moses, Commonly Called Genesis, 

(P) In the beginning ^God ci'eated the heaven and the earth!'' 1 
And the earth tuas "^ waste and void j and darkness was upon the 2 
face of the "^deep : and the spirit of God moved upon the face of 
the waters. And God said., Let there be light, and there was 3 
light. And God saw the light., that it was good, and God ^divided 4 
the light from the darhiess. And God called the light Day, and 5 
the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there 7uas 
morning, one day. 

And God said. Let there be a ^firmament in the midst of the 6 
waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God 7 
made the firmament, and divided the ^waters which were under the 
firmament from the waters which were above the firmament : and 
it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And there 8 
was evening and there was mornijig, a second day. 

And God said. Let the ''waters tender the heaven be gathered 9 
together unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was 
so. And God called the dry land Earth ; and ^the gathering to- 10 
geiher of the waters called he Seas : and God saw that it was 
good. And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herb yielding 1 1 
seed, [and] fruit tree bearing fruit "^ after its kind, wherein is 
the seed thereof , upon the earth: and it was so. And the earth 12 

lEx. 6:2f. *Jer. 4: 23; Is. 34: II. ^^g. 25 ; Dt. 33 : 13. ^job. 26 : lo ; 38 : igf. ^hra. 
9:6; Job 26 : lo ; 37 : 18. *7 : 11 ; 8 : 2. 'Job 38 : 16. ^Ex. 7 : 19. »vv. 12, 21 ; 6 : 20 ; 7 : 14. 

* The formula : " These are the generations of," forms the title to each one of the 
ten sections into which the Priestly Law-book is divided, in that portion (Genesis) 
which relates to the patriarchal period. This unbroken analogy makes it highly 
probable on the documentary theory that the title now found in Gen. ii. 4« origi- 
nally preceded Gen. i. i, and was removed by the compiler of P and JE to the end 
of the section. The awkward form of the sentence, Gen. i. i, confirms this idea, 
some of the best Hebrew scholars maintaining that the first Hebrew word is prop- 
erly a construct (" in the beginning of "). The author offers the conjecture that 
originally the title read, ii. 4^, "These are the generations of the heavens and the 
earth in the beginning of their creation, i. i, God created," etc. (2) 
(97) 7 



98 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

brought forth grass, herb yielding seed after its kind, and tree bear- 
ing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind ; and God saw 

13 that it was good. And there was evening and there U'as morning, 
a third day. 

14 And God said, Let there be ^"lights in the firmament of the heaven 
to divide the day from the night ; and let them be for signs, and 

15 for seasons, and for days and years : and let them be for lights in 
the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth : and it 

16 was so. And God made the two great lights ; the greater light to 
rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night : \_lie made] tlte 

1 7 stars also. And God set the^n in the firmament of the heaven to 
i2) give light upon the earth, and to ^^rule over the day and over the 

night, and to divide the light from the darkness ; and God saw 

19 that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, 
a fourth day. 

20 And God said. Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving 
creature that hath life, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open 

21 firmament of heaven. And God created the great sea-monsters, 
and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought 
forth abundantly, after their kinds, and every winged fowl aftev 

22 its kind : and God saw that it was good. And God blessed them, 
saying. Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, 

23 a7td let fowl multiply in the earth. And there zvas evening and 
there was morning, a fifth day. 

24 A7id God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature 
after its kind, cattle, and creeping things, and beast of the earth 

25 after its kind : and it was so. And God made the beast of the 
earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every thing 
that creepeth upon the ground after its kind : and God saw that it 

26 was good. And God said, Let us make man ^^in our own image, 
after our likeness : a?id let them have dominion over the fish of 
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over 
all* the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon 

27 the earth. ^^And God created man in his otvn image, in the image 

lojud. 5:20; Job38:7. «>Jer.,3i :35- "5:3; 9 = 6- '^5 : 1-3 ; Dt. 4 :32. 

*Read with Syr. instead of " all," every beast of, as the context demands. " Beast 
of the earth " means wild beast in distinction from " cattle," i. e. domestic animals.fs) 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 99 

of God created he him ; ''''male a^id female ci'eated he them. And 28 
God blessed them : and God said unto them, Be fi'uitful, and 
fuultiply, and replenish the earthy and subdue it j and have domin- 
ion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and oz'er 
every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And God said, 29 
Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, which is upon 
the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit 
of a tree yielding seed ; ' V<? you it shall be for meat : and to every 30 
beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing 
that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, [/ have given] 
every ^^ green herb for meat : and it was so. And God saw every 31 
thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And there 
was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 

And the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the host of 2 
them. And on the seventh day God finished his work which he 2 
had made y* '^and he rested on the seventh day from all his work 
which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and hal- 3 
lowed it : because that in it he rested from all his work which God 
had created and made. 

— * These are the generations of the heaven and of the earth when 4 

(J) they were created. — f [....] In the day that YahwehJ 

i''6 : 19 ; ct 7:2. "^Cf . 9 : 2ff ; ct. 3 . 18. i^fi : 11. lEx. 31 : 17. ^5:1; 6:9; 10 : i ; 11 : 10, 
27, etc. 

*From this statement, which seems not quite to agree with the representation of 
the context in its present form ; from the seven-fold repetition of the formula of ap- 
proval, verses 4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 3:, and a few other phenomena, Wellhausen and 
some other important authorities infer that Gen. i. i-ii. 4a is not exactly in its origi- 
nal shape, but has been adapted by the Priestly "Writer to serve as the basis for his 
first legal enactment, ii. 3. The original, according to this theory, may have pre- 
sented the creation of man as the culminating work of the seventh day. See Bud. 
I. pp. 47off., and my article in Hebraica^ April, 1S91. 

t Insert before i. i. See note in loc. 

$In the matter of the transliteration of the Hebrew consonants Y (J) H W (V) H, 
which is all that the original text affords, the present writer follows the plan of the 
American revisers, who give the personal name of Israel's God. Instead, however, of 
using the intrusive vowels e o a, derived from the word V(/<9«a_v,=" Lord," supersti- 
tiously substituted by the rabbis for the sacred name, and actually retained by the 
English committee in preference to the original, the present work follows the 
example of the majority of modern critical works in the interest of self-consistency, 
the verdict of scholarship being in favor of short a and e as the original vowels used 
when the name of Israel's God was pronounced. The vowel sounds were similar to 
those occurring in the name of the city Calneh, Gen. x. 10. 



100 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES. 

5 'Ood* *made earth and heaven. And no plant of the 
field was yet in the earth, and no herb of the field 
had yet sprung up: for Yahweh God had not caused 
it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to 

6 till the ground ; hut there went up a mist from the 
earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 

7 And Yahweh God 'formed man of the dust of the 
ground, 'and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 

8 life ; and man became a living soul. And Yahweh 
God planted a garden eastward, in Eden ; and there 

9 he put the man whom he had formed. And out of 
the ground made Yahweh God to grow every tree that 
is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; the tree 
of life alsof in the midst of the garden, — and the tree 

10 of the knowledge of good and evil.— And a river went out 
of Eden to water the g-arden ; and from thence it was parted, and 

11 became four heads. The name of the first is Pislion; that is it 
which compasseth the whole land of "Havilah, where there is 

12 gold; and the gold of that land is good: there is ^bdellium and 

13 onyx stone. And the name of the second river is Gihon: tlie 

14 the same is it that conipasseth the whole land of '"Cush. And 
the name of the third river is Hiddekel : tliat is it which goeth 

15 in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. And Yah- 
weli God took the man, and put him into tlie garden of Eden to 

16 dress it and to keep it.| And Yahweh God commanded the 

^4:26. *Ct. V. 413: and I : I. ^Ct. 1:24. ^7:22. '13:10. ^lo: 7, 29 ; 25 ; 18, etc. "Num. 
II : 7. '"10 : 6ff. 

*The insertion of this word after Yahweh here and throughout the second and 
third chapter is regarded as due to harmonistic redaction. A Hebrew had no more 
need to write God after Yahweh than a Greek to write it after Zeus, or a Roman 
after Jupiter. Were it not for the purpose of indicating that the Elohim. "God" 
of ch. I. and the Yahweh of ch. II. were identical, or for some other special reason, 
"Yahweh God" would doubtless have seemed as meaningless to the Hebrew 
reader as "Zeus God " to the Greek. Inasmuch, however, as the interpolation 
may have preceded the union of P and JE, and even that of J and E, it is indicated 
in the type of J=. 

tThe clause, "the tree of life also," is perhaps due to very early supplementary 
redaction. In this case the last clause of the verse and this should exchange places. 
See note to iii. 22. 

JVerses 10-15 are supposed to be due to very early supplementary redaction. A 
considerable amount of material of this kind is found in the J document, (e. g. iv. 
2-i6a, xii. 10-20, xiii. 14-17, xviii. 22-33) where the incongruity of the material with 
its context seems to indicate diversity of authorship, at the same time that the ma- 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 101 

man, saying. Of every tree of the garden thou mayest 
freely eat: hut of the tree of the knowledge of good and 17 
€Til,* thou shalt not eat of it : for in the day that thou 
eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

And Yahweh God said. It is not good that the man 18 
should be alone; I will make him an help meet for 
him. And out of the ground Yahweh God "formed 19 
every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air ; and 
brought them unto the man to see what he would call 
them: and whatsoever the man called every living 
creature, that was the name thereof. And the man 20 
gave names to all the cattle, and to the fowl of the 
air, and to every beast of the iield ; but for man there 
was not found an help meet for him. And Yahweh 21 
God caused a '"deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he 
slept ; and he took one of his ribs, and closed Up the 
flesh instead thereof: and the rib, which Yahweh God 22 
had taken from the man, made he a woman, and 

terial is obviously written to fit the place and cannot stand alone. (So e. g. iv. i-i6a). 
The material is therefore redactional rather than primitive. But on the other hand, 
these passages have no harmonistic purpose and betray no knowledge of E or P. 
More significant still, their /or7«a/ characteristics (style and language) are identi- 
cal with that of their more primitive context. The agreement is in fact remarkable. 
Only in their religious and doctrinal ideas there is generally a clear advance upon 
the usual standpoint of Ji, and as already said, they differ in context from the in- 
corporating material. One of the difficult problems of criticism is to account for 
these phenomena. The passages may be accounted for as interpolations due to di- 
dactic or supplementary interest (J-), or the incongruities of material may be ac- 
counted for as due to the author of our actual J document inserting remarks and 
comments of his own into the material which he takes from a still older — doubtless 
poetic— source, which he reduces to a continuous prose narrative and thus colors 
with his own style and language. On this theory (Dillman's) J himself is really a 
J2. Other phenomena seem to indicate that these additions date from a period after 
the original ballads and traditions had been reduced to something like the form of 
J, and it is undeniable that many of a similar character (cf. xxxii. 10-13, referring 
apparently both to J and E passages, and Ex. xxxii. 13— Dill=J— referring to Gen. 
xxii. 16 — Dill=R) are subsequent to the union of J and E. In the present volume 
a smaller type appropriate to secondary elements of the J document has been 
adopted, but the reader is left to form his own opinion as to whether this secon- 
dary material is secondary to the history as a whole or only secondary as compared 
with the sources of J. The most important J^ section will be found in Appendix I., 
separated for special study. 

111:24. '215:12- 

*Read " which is in the midst of the garden," cf. iii. 3. 



103 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

23 brought her to the man. And the man said. This is 
now "hone of my hones, and flesh of my flesh : she shall 
he called Woman, because she was taken out of man. 

24 "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his 
mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they 

25 shall be one flesh.* And they were both ''naked, the 
man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 

3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of 
the field which Yahweh God had made. And he said 
unto the woman, Yea, hath Godf said. Ye shall not 

2 eat of any tree of the garden? And the woman said 
unto the serpent. Of the fruit of the trees of the gar- 

3 den we may eat : but of the fruit of the tree which is 
in the midst of the garden, God hath said. Ye shall 
not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 

4 And the serpent said unto the woman. Ye shall not 

5 surely die : for God doth know that 'in the day ye eat 
thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall 

6 be 'as Ood, knowing good and evil. And when the wo- 
man saw that the tree was good for food, and that it 
was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be 
desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit there- 
of, and did eat ; and she gave also unto her husband 

7 with her, and he did eat. And the eyes of them both 
were opened, and they knew that they were naked; 
and they sewed fig leaves together, and made them- 

1^29 : 14 ; 37 : 27. 1*10: 9 ; 19 : 22. '^3:7. ^2:4,17. '•'v. 22 ; Dt. i :39. 

*It is the practice of this supposed author, J, to introduce frequent astiological 
narratives, accounting for various phenomena such as the pains of childbirth, iii. 16, 
the custom among Israelites of abstaining from a certain sinew, xxxii. 32, frequent 
etymologies, etc. The analogy of xxxii. 32 and other passages suggests therefore 
that in the verbs of v. 24 the Hebrew imperfect should be rendered in English by 
the present, not the future. 

tGod (Heb. Elolmn) is used by J in place of Yahweh where a special reason exists 
for avoiding the personal name, as when a heathen is speaking, Jud. i. 7 ; or when 
one who is personating the role of a heathen speaks. Gen. xliii. 29, or is addressed, 
xliv. 16; or if the word is used appellatively as in Ex. ix. 28, " voices of God," i. e. 
thunders ; or if there is a purpose to conceal the identity of the divine visitant. 
Gen. xxxii. 27-30. Here the serpent is either not supposed to know the personal 
name of God, or else it is deemed unsuitable to put the divine Name in the moutli 
of a beast. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 103 

selyes aprons. And they heard 'the Yoice* of Yahweh 8 
Crod walking in the garden 'in the cool of the day : and 
the man and his wife hid themselves 'from the pres- 
ence of Yahweh God amongst the trees of the garden. 
And Yahweh God called unto the man, and said unto 9 
him, Where art thou ? And he said, I heard thy voice 10 
in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked : 
and I hid myself. And he said. Who told thee that n 
thou wast naked ? Hast thou eaten of the tree, where- 
of I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 
And the man said. The woman whom thou gavest to he 12 
with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. And 13 
Yahweh God said unto the woman, "What is this thou 
hast done ? And the woman said. The serpent beguiled 
me, and I did eat. And Yahweh God said unto the ser- 14 
pent. Because thou hast done this, 'cursed art thou 
above all cattle, and above every beast of the field ; 
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and 'dust shalt thou eat 
allthedaysof thy life; and I will put enmity between 15 
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her 
seed: it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise 
'his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly mul- 16 
tiply thy sorrow and thy conception ; in sorrow thou 
shalt bring forth children ; '"and thy desire shall be 
to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And 17 
unto Adamt he said. Because thou hast hearkened un- 
to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, 
of which I commanded thee, saying. Thou slialt not 
eat of it: 'cursed is the ground for thy sake: in toil 
shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns 18 
also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and 19 

311. Sam. 5:24; I. Kings 14:6. ^igii; 24:63. ^a,:-L(,. i^i,:xo\ I'z-.Z. ''4:11; 5:29; 
9:25. "^Mic. 7 : 17 ; Is. 65 : 25. ^49:17. '"jo : 15. Ct. 4 : 7. "5:29. 

* The marginal rendering (R. V.) " sound " is alone correct. 

tThe Hebrew permits either translation, "Adam" or " the man." Translators 
with iv. 25 and v. 2 in view have supposed a proper name, but if the work of J 
is considered by itself it will be seen that " the man " is anonymous, or if he has a 
name it is not Adam=^o;;z(7, but Ish=»ir. Cf. ii. 23. 



104 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

"thou Shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat 
of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto 
the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust 

20 thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. — And the 
man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the 

21 mother of all living. — And Yahweh Ood made for 
Adam and for his wife coats of skins, and clothed 
them. 

22 And Yahweh God said, Behold, the man is become '^as one of 
us, to know g-ood and evil ; and now, '^lest he put forth his hand, 
and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 

23 — therefore Yahweh God sent him forth from the gar- 
den of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was 

24 taken. — So he drove out the man ; and he placed at the 
east of the garden of Eden the '^Cherubim, and the flame of "a 
sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of 
life.* 

4 And the man 'knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, 

and bare Cain, and said, I have gotten a man with [the 

2 help of J Yahweh. And ag^ain she bare liis brother Abel. 

i2Cf. 2:9, 16. Ct. 1:29. '311. Sam. 14:17, 20. i-»ii:6f. i»Ez. 28:i4fE; Ps. 18:11. 
"'Ez. 10 : 1-22. 'Vv. 17, 25 ; 19 : 5, 8 ; 24 : 16, etc. 

* Verse 20 is misplaced, since it not only comes in very malapropos^ but can have 
absolutely no significance until after iv. i. Let the order be iii. 19, 23, 21 (vi. 3?), iv. i, 
iii. 20. — Verses 23 and 24 each begin in Hebrew with the simple conjunction "and" 
which makes the duplication more apparent. The conflicting reasons for the expul- 
sion (vs. 23, that the man may become the slave of the soil according to vv. 17-19 in- 
stead of living on the spontaneously produced fruits of the garden ; vs. 24, that the 
usurpation of the divine prerogative of wisdom may not be increased by the further 
acquisition of iminortality) is supposed by Budde, I. (chapters I. and II.) to be due to 
the introduction of the tree of life, which seems to him to be the cause of various 
confusions and to give to the otherwise solemn pronouncing of sentence an appear- 
ance of mere action in self-defense, or jealousy. The threat seems unfulfilled and 
perhaps impossible of fulfilinent. Budde proposes to remedy all this by regarding' 
the verses 22 and 24 and the clause "the tree of life also," ii. g, which produces 
ambiguity in the allusions of iii. iff, as due to supplementation from Assyro-Baby- 
lonian legend, perhaps from the same period as the interpolation ii. 10-15 SiuA the 
great Flood-interpolation. The verse vi. 3, in rather loose connection with its 
present context, he thinks was removed from between iii. 21 and 23, supplying thus 
the singular absence of the threatened penalty of ii. 17. In the latter he would 
read, "tree which is in the midst of the garden," in accordance with iii. 3, instead 
of " tree of the knowledge of good and evil." He obtains thus a perfectly smooth 
connection, but the conjecture is a bold one and is only provisionally adopted. 
"Adam," vs. 21, should of course be " the man." Cf. note on vs. 17. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 105 

And 'Abel was a keeper of sheep, but* Cain was 'a tiller of 
the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, that 3 
Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yahweh. 
And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the 4 
fat thereof. And Yahweh had respect unto Abel and to his oflfer- 
ing : but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And 5 
Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And Yahweh said 6 
unto Cain, Why art thou wroth 2 and why is tliy countenance 
fallen 2 If thou doest well, ^shalt thou not be accepted 2 and if 7 
tliou doest not well, sin coucheth at the door : *and unto thee shall 
be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. And Cain toldf Abel 8 
his brother [ ... J. And it came to pass, when they were in the 
field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. 
And Yahweh said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother 2 And he 9 
said, I know not : am I my brother's keeper 2 And he said, ''What 10 
hast thou done 2 the voice of thy brother's blood ^crieth unto me 
from the ground. And now cursed art thou from the ground, 11 
which hath ^opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from 
thy hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth 12 
yield unto thee her strength, "a fugitive and a wanderer shalt 
thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto Yahweh, My punish- 13 
nient is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast '"driven me 14 
out this day from the face of the ground ; "and from thy face shall 
I be hid ; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer in the earth ; 
and it shall come to pass, that whosoever findeth me shall slay me. 
And Yahweh said unto him. Therefore whosoever slayetli Cain, 15 
'^vengeance shall be taken on liim sevenfold. And Yahweh ap- 
pointed a sign for Cain, lest any finding him should smite liim. 

*°And Cain went out from tlie presence of Yahweh,! and 16 
dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden. And 17 
Cain knew his wife ; and she conceived, and hare 
Enoch : and he huilded a city, and called the name of 
the city, after the name of his son,|| Enoch. And unto 18 
Enoch was born Irad : and Irad begat Mehujael : and 

2Ct. V. 20. 33:23. V. 12. ■»32:2o. 5Ct.3:i6. «3 : 13 ; 12:8, etc. ■'i8:2of; 19:13; 
Ex. 3:9. ''Num. 16:30. n-. i6. Ct. V. 17. i»3:24. 113:8. i^Ct. v. 24. 133:8. 

*Heb. "and." + Heb. " said to." 

$The passag-e, iv. 2-i6a, is regarded as the work of early supplementation. In 
verses 7, 15, and elsewhere, the obvious connection with J in chap. iii. is fully- 
recognized, but held to indicate not identity but diversity of authorship, the author 
of iv. 7, 15, misconceiving the older passages, iii. 16 ; iv. 24. 

11 Read perhaps with Budde, "his own name." Cf. the successive steps of civiliza- 
tion II. 19 ; III. 7, 21 ; iv. 26^, 17, 20-22. 



106 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Mehujael begat Methushael; and Methushael begat 

19 Lameeh. "And Lamech took unto him two wives: tlie 
name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other 

20 Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal : "he was the father of 

21 such as dwell in tents and [have] cattle. And his 
brother's name was Jubal : he was the father of all 

22 such as handle the '"harp and pipe. And Zillah, ''she 
also bare Tubal-cain, the forger* of every cutting in- 
strument of brass and iron : '"and the sister of Tubal- 

23 cain was Naamah. And Lamech said unto his wives : 

Adah and Zillah, hear my voice ; 
Ye wives of Lamech, hearken unto my speech : 
For I have slain a man for wounding me. 
And a young man for bruising me :\ 

24 "If Cain shall be avenged sevenfold. 

Truly Lamech seventy and sevenfold. [ . . ] 

25 ^^Xwii Adam knew his wife again ; and she bare a son, and called 
his name Seth : For, [said she,] ^'God hath appointed me another 

26 seed instead of Abel ; for Cain slew him. And to Setli, to him 
also there was born a son ; and he called his name Eiiosh : then 
"began men to ''^call upon the name of Yahweh.J [ • •• ] 

'*io :25. i5jQ : 21 ; II : 29 ; 19 : ^-ji. Ct. v. 2. "31 : 27. "V. 26 ; 10 : 21 ; 19 : 38 ; 22 :2o, 24. 
1836:22. i^Ct. V. 15 and 5:31. 2oct. vv. i, 17. ^ly. 26. Ct. v. i. 2210:8. Ct. vv. 1-5. 
2^12 : 7, 8 ; 13 : 4 ; 21 : 33 ; 26 : 25, etc. 

*The text is certainly corrupt. A literal translation would be, "the forger of 
every artificer," etc. Tubal (cf. Tubal x. 2=Tibareni, a tribe noted for metallurgy) 
should probably be deprived of the suffix " cain," of doubtful meaning and wanting 
in LXX. Budde would read after "Tubal" — "and Lamech became an artificer of 
brass and iron." He rejects the last clause of the verse. (4) 

t Or, " I will slay a man for a wound [done] to me, and a child for a bruise [done] 
to me." So Kautzsch and Socin, Budde, Wellhausen, Dillmann and others. The 
life of the " child" (" young man" is scarcely true to the Hebrew) and of the " man" 
is the penalty Lamech proposes to exact by means of his superior weapons for a 
greater or less injury inflicted on himself. He multiplies thus the powers of his 
ancestor Cain eleven-fold. 

JRead with LXX. " He began (i. e. was the first) to call," etc. Cf. vs. 20 and x. 8. 
With iv. 25 begins the section of the J document known to critics as the Flood- 
interpolation, and supposed to be due to supplementation of the earlier narrative 
from Assyro-Chaldaean sources. The Assyrian Creation and Deluge legends were 
brought to light by Geo. Smith (Chald. Ace. of Genesis, London, 1876). The domi- 
nant critical theory regards this material as having been grafted upon the older 
Hebrew tradition by means of a new genealogy starting from Adam and containing 
ten names in correspondence with the Assyro-Babylonian story. The only changes 



. COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 107 

(P) ' This is the book of the generations of Adam. "^In the day 5 
that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him ; ^male 2 
and female created he them j and blessed them, and called their 
name Adam, in the day when they mere created. And Adam 3 
lived a7i hundred and thirty years, and begat \a son] in *his own 
likeness, after his image j and called his name ^Seth : atid the 4 
days of Adam after he begat Seth were eight hundred years : and 
he begat sons and daughters. And all the days that Adam lived 5 
were nine hundred and thirty years : and he died. 

And Seth lived an hundred and five years, and ^begat Enosh : 6 
and Seth lived after he begat Enosh eight hundred and seven 7 
years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Seth 8 
were nine hundred and twelve years : and he died. 

A7id Enosh lived 7iinety years, and begat ''Kenan j and Enosh 9-10 
lived after he begat Kenan eight hundred and fifteen years, and 
begat sons and daughters : and all the days of Enosh were nine 1 1 
himdred and five years : and he died. 

^And Kenan lived seventy years, and begat Mahalalel : 12 
and Kenan lived after he begat Mahalalel eight hundred and 13 
forty years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of \\ 
Kefia?i were niiie hundred and ten years : and he died. 

And Mahalalel lived sixty and five years, and begat fared : 15 
and Mahalalel lived after he begat fared eight hundred and 16 
thirty years, ajid begat sons and daughters : and all the days of i'] 
Mahalalel were eight hujidred ninety and five years : ajid he died. 

And fared lived an huiidred sixty and two years, and begat 18 
Enoch : and fared lived after he begat Enoch eight hundred 19 
years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days of fared 20 
were nine hundred sixty and two years : and he died. 

And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah : 21 

12:4; 6:9, etc. 21:26. 31:27. Ct. 2:i8ff. *V. i;i:26. ^j,-^^ Ct. 4 : iff. "4:26. 
'4:1. ^Ct. 4:17-23. 

required for the insertion were the borrowing of Noah's name (originally, accord- 
ing to Gen. i.K. 2off, an agricultural hero, discoverer of the vine and ancestor of the 
peoples of Palestine) for the new role of flood-hero and world-ancestor, and inser- 
tion of two new links in the genealogy of verses 17, 18. The other names of J's 
genealogy may be regarded as having been altered at the same time by the inter- 
polator to the form they now present in ch. v., or this alteration may be due to P. 
See Appendix I. 



108 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

22 and Enoch ''walked with God after he begat Methuselah three 
2^ hundred years, and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

24 of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years : a?id Enoch 
walked with God : ^"and he was not ; for God took him* 

25 And Methuselah lived an hundred eighty and seven years, and 

26 begat Lantech : and Methuselah lived after he begat Lamech 
seven hundred eighty and two years, a?id begat sons and daughters : 

27 and all the days of Methuselah ivere nine hundred sixty and nine 
years : and he died. 

28 And Lamech lived an hundred eighty and two years, aftd begat 

29 (J) [ • • ] a son : and he called his name Noah, saying, 
"This same shall comfort us for our work and for 
the toil of our hands, because of "the ground which 

30 (P) Yahweh hath cursed. f A7id Lamech lived after he begat 
Noah five hundred ninety and five years, and begat sons and 

31 daughters : and all the days of Lamech tvere seven hundred 
seventy and seven years : and he died. 

32 And Noah was five hundred years old : and Noah begat Shem, 
Llam, and Japheth. 

*6 : 9, Ct. 24 : 40. i''37 :3o; 42 : 13, 36. i'9:2o. 123:17. 

*Biidde thinks the divergences from the regular formula of P in verses 2212 and 
24 to rest upon data afforded by the genealogy of the Flood interpolator. He also 
gives reasons for preferring the numerical readings of the Samaritan text in this 
chapter, in this opinion being supported by the best authorities. The numbers ac- 
cording to the Sam. are as follows • 





Year of 


Years of 


Years 


Year of 




first son. 


further life. 


at death. 


death, A. : 


Adam 


130 


800 


930 


930 


Seth 


105 


807 


912 


1042 


Enosh 


90 


815 


90s 


1 140 


Kenan 


70 


840 


910 


1235 


Mahalalel 


6s 


830 


895 


1290 


Jared 


62 


785 


847 


1307 


Enoch 


6s 


300 


36s 


887 


Methuselah 


67 


653 


720 


1307 


Lamech 


53 


600 


653 


1307 


Noah 


500 


450 


950 


1657 


The year 1307 A. M. 


, in which 


all the latter half of the patriarchs peris 



Enoch and Noah, is the year of the Flood. 

tFrom the critical point of view vs. 29 is a fragment of J's genealogy which origi- 
nally introduced ix. 20-27 where the fulfilment of the prediction is found. On this 
basis translate literally " from the ground." It is the same ground cursed by Yah- 
weh iii. i7ff, which is now to produce the cheering and comforting vine. Cf. Prov. 
xxxi. 6f Jer. xvi. 7 ; Ps. cxiv. 15, etc. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 109 

(J) And it came to pass, when men began to multiply 6 
on the face of the ground, and daughters were born 
unto them, that 'the sons of God saw the daughters 2 
of men that they were fair ; and they took them 
wives of all that they chose. — And Yahweh said, 'My 3 
spirit shall not strive with man for ever, for that he 
also is flesh : yet shall his days be 'an hundred and 
twenty years. — The Nephilim were in tlie earth in those 4 
days, and also after that, when the SOUS of (xOd 'came in 
unto the 'daughters of men, and they bare children 
to them : the same were the 'mighty men which were 
of old, the 'men of renown.* [ . • . ] And Yahweh saw 5 
that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and tliat '^every 
imag'ination of the tlioughts of his heart was only evil contin- 
nally. And it 'repented Yahweh that he had made man on the 6 
earth, and it '"g'rieved him at his heart. And Yahweh said, I will 7 
"destroy man ttIioiu i have created from the face of the ground ; both 

man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air ; \ for it repentcth 

me that 1 have made them. But Noah '^found grace in the eyes of 8 
Yahweh. [ . . . ] 

(P) ^'^ These are the generations of Noah. Noah ivas a right- 9 
ecus man, \ and] perfect in his generations : Noah ^* walked with 
God. And Noah begat three sons, Shem, Hani, and Japheth. 10 
And the earth 7vas corrupt before God, and the earth was filled 1 1 
with violence. And God saw the earth, and, behold, it was cor- 12 
rupt , for ^^ all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. 

And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is C07ne before 13 
me ; for the earth is filled with violence through them ; and, be- 
hold, I will destroy them with the earth. Make thee an ark of i^ 
gopher wood : rooms shall thou 7nake in the ark, and shall pitch 
ii within and withotit with pitch. And this is ho7v thou shall 15 
fnake it : the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth 

13:22; Job 1:6; 2: I. 22: 7_ 3Dt. 34:7. lie :2; 30:3; 38:8. ^11:5. «io:8f. 'Num. 
16:2. 88:21. "Ex. 32:12, 14. Ct. Num. 23 : 19. '"34:7. "7:23. Ct. v. 13. i^ig;^. 
19:18; 30:27 ; 32 :5 ; 33:8, 10, 15, etc. 182 :4 ; 5 : i, etc. 1^5:22. i^Vv. 13, 17, 19, etc. 

* In verse 3 translate as in Part III. See Rev. Ver. margin. The verse is perhaps 
taken from after iii. 19 or 21. See note in loc. In verse 4 I have deviated from pre- 
vious analyses. See Hebraica^ April, 1891. (5) 

t The words in small type, vs. 7, are attributed on linguistic grounds to late sup- 
plementary redaction. 



110 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

i6 of it fifty cubits ^ and the height of it thirty cubits. A light shalt 
thou make to the ark, and to a cubit shalt thou finish it upward j 
and the ^^door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof j with 

17 lower, second, and third stories shalt thou make it. And I, be- 
hold, I do bring the flood of waters upon the earth, to ^'' destroy all 
flesh, wherein is the breath of life, from under the heaven ; every 

18 thi7ig that is in the earth shall die. But I will ^''establish my cov- 
enant with thee ; and thou shalt come into the ark, ^''thou, atid thy 

19 sons, and thy wife, and thy sons' wives with thee. And of every 
living thing of all flesh, "^"two of every sort shalt thou bring into 
the ark, to keep them alive with thee; they shall be male and female. 

20 ^'(9/ the fowl after their kind, and of the cattle after their kind, 
of every creeping thing of the ground after its kind, two of every 

2 1 sort shall come unto thee, to keep thevi alive. A?id take thou unto 
thee of all food that is eaten, and gather it to thee : and it shall be 

22 for food for thee, and for them. "^"^ Thus did Noah; according to 
all that God commanded him, so did he. 

7 (J) And Yahweh said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into 
the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this genera- 

2 tion. Of every 'clean beast thou shalt talie to thee seyen and 
seven, Hhe male and his female ; and of the beasts that are not 

3 clean two, tlie male and his female ; of tlie fowl also of the air, 
seven and seven, male and female : * to keep seed alive upon the face 

4 of all the eartli. For yet seven days, and =^1 will cause it to rain 
upon the earth forty days and forty nights; and every living 
thing that I liave made will I ^destroy from off the face of the 

5 ground. And Noah did according unto all that Yahweh com- 
manded him. 

6 (P) ^And Noah was six hundred years old wJien the flood of 

7 (J) waters was upon the earth. And Noah went in, and his sons, 
and liis w ife, and his sons' wives with him, into the ark, because of 

8 the waters of tlie flood. Of clean beasts, and of beasts that are not 

9 clean, and of fowls, and of erery thing that creepetli upon the ground, there 



"Ct. 8:13. "7:15.01.7:2. i8g:8ff. i"?:?; S 


;:i5f. Ct. 7 


:i. ^«T. 


isf. Ct. 7 : 2. 


211:21. 227:5^5^16; Ex. 7 : 6, 20, etc. iCt. 6 : igf. 


2Ct. 6:19. 


3VV. .0, 


12, 23 ; 8:6. 


Ct. vv. II, 24 ; 8 : 3-5. *6:7;v. 23. ^12:^; zy-.z^etc. 









*The expression "the male and his female " of vs. 2 is by no means the same as 
" male and female " vv. 3 and 9. The former means literally "the man and his 
wife " (German Maennchen und Weibcheii). The latter is the equivalent of the 
English "male and female," but occurs exclusively in passages assigned to P and 
the later literature. Hence the assignment of the clause in vv. 3 and 9 to R. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. IH 

went in two and two unto Noah into the ark, male and female,* as Godf 
commanded Noah. And it came to pass after the '^seven days, that lo 
(P) the waters of the flood were upon the earth. In the six \ i 

hundredth year of NoaJi s life, in the second month, on the seven- 
teenth day of the tnonth,\ on ''the same day ivere all ''the fountains of 
the great deep broken up, and the ivindows of heaven were opened. 
(J) '^Aiid the rain was upon the earth forty days and forty nights. 12 
(P) In the ^"selfsame day entered ^^Noah, and Sheni, and Hani, and 13 
Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's wife, and the three wives 
of his sons ivith them, into the ark ■ they, and ^'^ every beast after 14 
its kind, and all the cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing 
that creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl after 
its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went in mito Noah 15 
into the ark, ^^ two and two of all flesh wherein is the breath of life. 
And they that went in, went in male arid female of all flesh, as 16 
(J) (P) God commanded him: — and Tahweh shut him in.|| — And 17 
(J) the flood was forty day s^ upon the earth ; and the waters in- 
creased, and bare up tlie ark, and it was lift up above tlie earth. 
(P) And the waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth; 1 8 
and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the waters 1 9 
prevailed exceedingly upon the earth ; and all the high mountains 
that were under the whole heaven were coiiered. ^"^ Fifteen cubits 20 
upward did the waters prevail ; and the mountains were covered. 
And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cat- 21 
tie, a7id beast, and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the 
(J) earth, and every man : — all in whose nostrils was the breath 22 
of the spirit of life, of all that was in the dry land, died. — And every 23 

«V. 4. ''V.13; 17:23, 26; Ex. 12:41 ; ig:i. 81:2, 6f. ^V. 4. l"V. 11, etc. "6:18; 
vv. 7, 8, isf . Ct. 7 : 1. 126:20; 1:21. 136: 17. "Cf. 6 : 15 ; 8 :4. 

* Harmonistic redaction. Cf. the " two of each " in vv. 9 and 15 with " sevens " of 
vs. 2, and see note to vs. 3. 

tSam. Targ. Vulg. (the latter resting no doubt on LXX. MSS.) have " Yahweh."— 
After vs. 9 insert the clause, " and Yahweh shut him in," vs. 16. 

X I. e. 40 days and 7 days from the first day of the 600th year. Cf. iii. 13 and vii. 4. 
P is here apparently dependent on J^. 

1 Necessarily removed by the redactor from after vs. 9. 

§ Harmonistic redaction. 



112 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

living thing- was destroyed* wliicli was npon the face of the 

ground, both man, and cattle, and creeping thing, and fowl of the heaven ; and 
they were destroyed from the earth : and Noall Only >vas left, and they 

24 (P) tliat were with him in the ark. And the waters prevailed 
upon the earth an hundred and fifty days. 
8 Aiid God remembered Noah, and every living thing, and all the 
cattle that were with hirn in the ark : and God made a wind to 

2 pass over the earth, and the waters assuaged j the fountains also 

(J) of the deep and the windows of heaven were stopped, — and the 

3 rain from heaven was restrained ; and the waters returned from 
(P) off the earth continually ; f — and after an ^hundred and 

4 fif^y ^'^y^ ^^^^ waters decreased. And the ark rested in the seventh 
month, on the seventeenth day of the month, upon the mountains of 

5 Ararat. And the waters decreased continually until the tenth 
month : in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, were the 

6 (J) tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass at the end 
of ^forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark which he 

7 had made : and sent forth a raven, and it went forth to and fro, 

8 until the waters were dried up from off the earth. [ . . . J And he 
sent forth a dove from him, to see if the waters were abated from 

9 off the face of the ground ; but the dove found no rest for the sole of 
her foot, and she returned unto him to the ark, for the waters 
were on the face of the whole earth: and he put forth his liand, 

10 and took lier, and brought her in unto liim into the ark. And lie 
stayed yet other seven days ; % and again he sent forth tlie dove 

11 out of the ark ; and the dove came in to him at eventide ; and, lo, 
in her mouth an olive leaf pluckt off: ^so Noah knew that tlie 

12 waters were abated from off the earth. And he stayed yet other 
seven days ; and sent forth the dove ; and she returned not again 

13 (P) unto him any more. And it came to pass in the six hundred 
afid first year, in the first month, the first day of the month, the 
(J) waters were dried up from off the earth : and Noah removed 

'7:24. ^7:4, 12. 3(3^.8:15. 

*Read "He (i. e. Yahweh) blotted out every living thing " with margin (R. V.), 
and insert vs. 22 after "face of the ground" in 23^. " The spirit of " after "the 
breath of," vs. 22, is probably a late gloss. 

t Insert after 6a. "That" (vs. 6) and "and" (vs. 2) represent the same Hebrew- 
conjunction. 

% " Yet other " implies the former existence of the clause, " And he stayed seven 
days " before vs. 8. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 113 

the ^covering * of the ark, and looked, and, behold, the face of the 
(P) ground was dried. [ • • • ] And in the second month, on 14 
the seven and twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 

And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the ark, 15-16 
thou, and thy wife, and thy sotis, and thy sons' wives with thee. 
Bring forth 7vith thee every living thing that is with thee of all 1 7 
fiesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creeping thing that creepeth 
upon the earth ; that they may breed abundantly in the earth, and 
^ be fruitful, and multiply upon the earth. And Noah went forth, 18 
and his sons, and his 7mfe, and his sons' wives with him : every 1 9 
beast, every creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever moveth up- 
on the earth, ^after their families, went forth out of the ark. 
(J) And Noah 'builded an altar unto Yahweh, and took of every 20 
clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings 
on the altar. And Yah well smelled the sweet savour ; and Yahweh 21 
said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more 
for man's sake, for that *the imagination of man's heart is evil 
from his youth ; neither will I again smite any more every thing 
living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and 22 
harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and 
(P) night shall not cease. [ ■ • . ^\ And ^ God blessed Noah and ^ 
his sons, a?id said unto them, Be frtiitful, and multiply, and re- 
plenish the earth. And the fear of you atid the dread of you 2 
shall be upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of the 
air J with all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of 
the sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every "^moving thing 3 
that liveth shall be food for you ; as the green herb have I given 
you all. But flesh with the life thereof, [which is\ the blood 4 
thereof, shall ye not eat. And surely your blood, [the blood] of 5 
your lives, will I require j at the hatid of every beast will I re- 
quire it : and at the hand of man, even at the hand of every ma?t's 
brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth mans 6 
blood, by man shall his blood be shed : for ^in the image of God 

^Ct.6:i6. 5j . 22, 28, etc. ^10:5, 20, 31, etc. '12 :8 ; 13 : 18, etc. '6:5. ii : 22, 28, etc. 

2Cf. 1:29. 3i:26f; 5:1-3. 

♦Strictly "cover" or "roof." Both writers avoid the word for ship, that ren- 
dered "ark" meaning box or chest ; but the conception is apparently more primi- 
tive here than in vi. i4ff. 

+ Supply perhaps the story of the bow as token of the covenant, cf. ix. iiflf. 



114 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

7 made he man. A fid you, *be ye fruitful, and multiply ; bring 
forth abundantly in the earth, and inultiply therein. 

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, saying, 

9 ^And J, behold, I establish my covenant with you, and with your 

10 seed after you J aud with every living creature that is with you, 
the fowl, the cattle, and every beast of the earth with you ; of all 

1 1 that go out of the ark, even every beast of the earth. And */ will 
establish my covena7it with you j neither shall all flesh be cut off 
any more by the waters of the flood j tieither shall there any more 

12 be a flood to destroy the earth. And God said, This is the token 
of the covenant which I make between me and you and every living 

1^ creature that is with you, for perpetual generations : I do set my 
bow in the cloud, and it shall be ''for a token of a covenant between 

14 me and the earth. And it shall come to pass, when I bring a 

15 cloud over the earth, that the bow shall be seen in the cloud, and I 
7uill remetnber ?ny covenant, which is between me and you and 
every living creature of all flesh j and the waters shall no more 

16 becofne a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the 
cloud ; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlast- 
ing covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh 

17 that is upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, This is the 
token of the covena?it which I have established between me and all 
flesh that is upon the earth. 

18 (J) And «the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shem, 

19 and Ham, and Japheth : and Ham is the father of Canaan.* These three 

^1:28; V.I. 66; 18; 17:2, 4, 7, 10. etc. «V. 9. ''17:11; V. 17. 86:857:1. 01.5:32; 

6:10; 7:13. 

* The last clause of vs. 18 is attributed to harmonistic redaction. Verses 18 and 19 
are regarded as the caption to the Flood-interpolator's table of nations in ch. x., by 
which Noah appears as ancestor of the world's population. After the separation of 
the documentary analysis is effected, however, the ancient fragment which knows 
him as an agricultural hero, discoverer of the vine, ix. 20-27, appears to stand in a 
connection which represents him as father only of the tribes of Canaan, the coun- 
try of the vine, Shem=the Hebrew stock, Japheth=the Philistines, or perhaps 
Phoenicians, and Canaan=the Canaanites. " Ham, the father of," in vs. 22, appears 
thus as a harmonistic gloss, identical with that under consideration, both being 
designed to reconcile vs. 24 with vs. 18. In support of this view it is urged that vs. 25 
with its curse upon Canaan as the wrong-doer, and especially its expression " his 
brethren," proves that " Ham " has no place in the original story, though of course, 
as representative of African races, very necessary to the character of Noah as a 
world-ancestor. It being necessary to introduce this story, if at all, after the Flood, 
the supposed Flood-interpolator if he wished to preserve it would be obliged to 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 115 

were the sons of Noah : and of these was the whole earth ^over- 
spread. 

—And Noah "began to be an husbandman, and plant- 20 
ed a vineyard: and he drank of the wine, and was 21 
"drunken; and he was uncoyered within his tent. 
And Ham, the father of* Canaan, saw the nakedness of 22 
his father, and told his two brethren without. And 23 
Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon 
both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered 
the nakedness of their father ; and their faces were 
"backward, and they saw not their father's naked- 
iiess. And Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what 24 
his youngest f son had done unto him. And he said, 25 

Cursed be Canaan ; 

"A servant of servants shall he be unto his breth- 
ren. 
"And he said, 26 

Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Shem : 

And let Canaan be his servant. 

God enlarge Japheth, 27 

And let him dwell in the tents of Shem ; 

And let Canaan be his servant. t — 

(P) And Noah lived after the fiood three hundred and fifty 28 

^lo :25 ; II : I. i''4 : 26 ; 10 : 8. ^'43 :34. '^12 : 8 ; 13 :3 ; 35 :2i ; 49 : ii. i^V. 26f. Jos. 
9 : 27 ; 17 : 18 ; Jud. i : 28ff : "ze : 22. 

adopt the expedient of introducing the harmonistic clauses here and in vs. 22. The 
theory affords thus at least a possible explanation of the inappropriateness of the 
story in its present connection. Observe that Noah's sons are married and have 
familes according to viii. 18 ; ix. i8f (J^) and that they are over 100 years old accord- 
ing to vs. 32 ; xi. lof . (P). 

*See note to vs. 18. — In vs. 20 read " And Noah was (became) an husbandman and 
began (i. e. was the first) to plant a vineyard." Cf iv. 2, 17 ("was a city builder") 
20-22, 26 ; X. 9, 8. 

■t- The Hebrew is identical with i Sam. xvi. 11 ; xvii. 14, excluding the translation 
" younger " (R. V. margin). The ground for the marginal reading is the fact that 
Ham according to the composite Pentateuch is the second and not the youngest 
son. But the analysis shows the reference to be not really to Ham in this passage 
but to Canaan. 

iflnsert after v. 29.— Read " their servant " in vs. 26f. The Canaanite is doubly 
enslaved. Reduced first by Israel to taskwork he becomes subsequently " servant 
of servants " to the Philistine (Phoenician ?). " God " vs. 27, if original, was used as 
more appropriate in speakmg of a people to whom the Deity would not be known by 
his personal name ; if altered, this was doubtless the ground for change. (6) 



116 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

2g years. And all the days of Noah were nine hundred arid fifty 

years : and he died. 
10 '^Noiu these are the generations of the sons of Noah., Shem 

(J) Hajn and Japheth : — and ''unto them were sons born after 

the flood.*— [ . . . ] 

2 (P) ^The sons of Japheth ; Gomer, arid Magog., and Madai., 

3 and Javan., and * Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. And the sorts 

4 of Gomer ; Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. And the 
sons of Javan j Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittini, and Dodanim. 

5 ^ Of these were the isles of the nations divided in their lands, [ . . . ] 
every one after his tongue j after their families, in their nations. 

6 And the sons of Ham j Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Ca- 

7 naan. And the sons of Cush ; Seba, and ^Havilah, and Sabtah, 
and Raamah, and Sabteca : and the sons of Raamah ; ^Sheba, 

8 (J) and^Dedan. And Cush begat Nimrod : he began to be a 

9 'mighty one in the earth. — He was a iiiiglity hunter be- 
fore Yahweli: 'wherefore it is said. Like Nimrod a 

10 mighty hunter before Yahweh.f — And the beginning of 
his kingdom was ^Babel, and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in 

11 the land of Shinar. Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, 

12 and builded Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen be- 

13 tween Nineveh and Calah (the same is the great city). And Miz- 
raim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim, 

14 and Pathrusim, and Casluhim (whence went forth the Philistines), 
and Caphtorim. % 

15-16 And Canaan '"begat Zidon his firstborn, and Heth; "and 

17-18 the Jebusite, and the Amorite, and the Oirgashite ; and the Hiyite, and the 
Arkite, and the Sinite ; and the Arvadite, and the Zemarite, and the Hamathite : 

and afterward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad.| 
19 ''^And the border of the Canaanite was from Zidon, '^as thou 

12:4, etc. 24:18, 26. Vv. 21,25. ^Vv. 6, 22. Ex. 6:i4ff. '^a,:i^. syv. 20, 31. «Ct. 28f ; 
25:3. '6:4. 82:24, etc. "Ct. 11:1-9. "22:21. iii5:i9ff. i2v. 30. 1313:10; 25:18. 

*The last clause of vs. i is considered by Kautzsch and Socin to be taken from J's 
interpolator. If so its original position must have been between ix. 19a and igi. Or 
else we may consider ix. 18, 19 to be due to R entire. 

+The Hebrew gives reason to think that verse 9 is not now in its original position. 
Budde conjectures for it a position after vi. 4. (7) 

+Amos ix. 7 would lead us to expect the relative clause at the end of the verse. 
It is perhaps a gloss introduced at the wrong place from the margin. 

llVerse iS* is in the present connection incomprehensible to the critical mind, since 
"the families of the Canaanites" izri? those just enumerated. The analysis traces. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 117 

goest toward Gerar, unto Gaza ; as thou goest toward Sodom and 
(P) Gomorrah and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha. ^^ These 20 
are the sons of Ham, after their fa7tiilies, after their tongues, in 
their lands, in their natio?is. 

(J) And 'Wto Shem, the father of all the children of 21 
Eher,* the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were child- 
(P) ren horn. [ • • • ] The sons of Shem j Elam, and ^^Asshur, 22 
and Arpachshad, and Lud, and Aram. And the sons of "Aram j 23 
"Uz, and Hid, and Gether, and Mash. And Arpachshad heg'at 24 
Shelah; and Shelah begat Eber.f And unto Eber were born two 25 
sons : the name of the one was Peleg ; for in his days was the earth 
'^divided ; and his brother's name was '^Joktan. And Joktan be- 26 
gat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmayeth, and Jerah; and 27 
Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklah ; and Obal, and Abimael, and 28 
^^Sheba ; and Ophir, and ^"Havilah, and Jobab : all these were the 29 
sons of Joktan. And their dwelling was from Mesha, as thou goest 30 

^^vv. 5, 31. i^v. I. 1^01.25:3. "Ct. 22:21. 1^11:1-9. "25:3. ^^v. 7. 
however, in many places the hand of a redactor who delights in introducing these 
lists of Canaanitish tribes at every practicable point (of. xv. 19-21, Ex. iii. 8, 17, etc.). 
If i6-iSa were due to this supplementing redaction, intended perhaps to give the 
usual number of 12 Palestinian tribes, i8d forms a very good connection after vs. 15. 

*This clause— or rather the words, "all the children of"— is by many critics 
regarded as a harmonistic interpolation connected with vs. 24 (see note following), 
the insertion of two generations between Shem and Eber necessitating a change 
from "father of Eber." But the original cannot have read " father of Eber," for 
no writer would say, " And to Shem, also, the father of Eber, were born sons : 
Ebet\" etc. On the other hand, the evidence against vs. 24 is as conclusive as criti- 
cal evidence can be, and the clause in question is at least superfluous if not incon- 
gruous here. The phenomena may be accounted for by supposing J^ to be enriched 
here, as in vs. 9 and probably elsewhere (cf. vs. 25 with xi. 1-9) in this table, from his 
primitive source. With this idea the form of the clause corresponds. Cf. iv. 2of ; 
xi. 29 ; xix. 37f . 

t Verse 24 introduces two generations, apparently to make the number corre- 
spond with the previous genealogies of J" and P (ten generations and a triad). 
"Without it there are, as in Ji generally (cf. iv. 17-24), seven and a triad. With it 
Terah becomes the tenth (by counting both termini, or by the addition of Cainan 
[LXX.] ) from Shem, as Noah is tenth from Adam. The question arises whether 
the interpolation is due to R or to J^. In favor of the former is the fact that were 
the verse not here R would be compelled to insert it from xi. i2ff. On the other 
hand we observe : iirst, as in the case of the previous genealogy, iv. 17-26, it is J2 
(iv. 25f.) who has done the work of expanding in advance of P ; and second, if R 
were transcribing from xi. i2ff he would doubtless use the word there employed for 
"begat," viz., holid, the causative, or Hiphil form of the verb yalad, "to bear." 
This P invariably uses, apparently regarding the Qal or indicative form, yalad, 
which J uses, as a gross solecism. It is the latter which is twice used in vs. 24. 
Hence the assignment of this verse (against other critics) to J'' ; with the assump- 
tion, of course, that it was preceded by the substance of 22f. 



118 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

31 (P) toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. [ . . . ] These 
are the sons of Shem^ after their families^ after their tongues^ 
in their lands, after their nations. 

32 These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their gener- 
ations, in their nations : a?id of these were the natio7is divided in 
the earth after the flood. 

11 (J) And the whole earth was of one 'language and 

2 of one speech. And it came to pass, as they jour- 
neyed 'east, that they found a plain in the land of 

3 'Sliinar ; and they dwelt there. And they said one to 
another; 'Go to, let us make brick, and burn them 
thoroughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime 

4 had they for mortar. And they said, Go to, let us 
build us a city, and a tower, whose top [may reachj 
unto heaven, and let us make us 'a name ; lest we be 
scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth. 

5 And Yahweh 'came down to see the city and the tower, 

6 which the children of men builded. And Yahweh 
said. Behold, they are one people, and they have all 
one language ; and this is what they begin to do ; and 
now 'nothing will be withholden from them, which 

7 they propose to do. Go to, 'let us go down and there 
confound their language, that they may not under- 

8 stand one another's speech. [ ... J So Yahweh 'scat- 
tered them abroad from thence upon the face of all 

9 the earth : and they left oflF to build the city. '"There- 
fore was the name of it called Babel ; because Yah- 
weh did there confound the language of all the earth : 
and from thence did Yahweh scatter them abroad up- 
on the face of all the earth. 

10 (P) ^^ These are the generations of Shem. ^"^Shetn was an hun- 

1 1 dred years old, and begat Arpachshad two years after the flood: * and 
Shem lived after he begat Arpachshad five hundred years, and 
begat sons and daughters. 

iCt. 10:5, 20, 3if. 32:8; 12 ;8. 3io:io. '>Vv. 4, 7 ; 38 : 16 ; Ex. i ; lO. ^(,:j,. 018:21; 
Ex. 3:8. '3:22. 83:22.18:0. 9Ct. ch. 10. i»2: 24; 10:9, etc. 112:4, etc. '"Ch. 5. 

*This clause is incompatible with the chronology (cf. vii. ii ; ix. 28) and is probably- 
due to supplementation. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 119 

And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years^ and begat Shelah : 1 2 
and Arpachshad lived after he begat Shelah four hundred and 13 
three years, and begat sons and daughters. 

And Shelah lived thirty years, and begat Eber ; and Shelah 14-15 
lived after he begat Eber four hundred and three years, and begat 
sons and daughters. 

And Eber lived four and thirty years, and begat Peleg : and 16-17 
Eber lived after he begat Peleg four hundred and thirty years, 
and begat sons and daughters. 

And Peleg lived thirty years, and begat Reu : and Peleg 18-19 
lived after he begat Reu two hundred and nine years, and begat 
sons atid daughters. 

And Reu lived two and thirty years, and begat Serug : and 20-21 
Reu lived after he begat Serug two hundred and seven years, and 
begat sons and daughters. 

And Serug lived thirty years, and begat Nahor : and Serug 22-23 
lived after he begat Nahor two hundred years, and begat so?is and 
daughters. 

And Nahor lived nitie and twenty years, and begat Terah : 24 
and Nahor lived after he begat Terah an hundred and nineteen 25 
years, and begat sons and daughters. 

And Terah lived seventy years, and begat Abram, Nahor, and 26 
Hara7i. 

'^^Now these are the generations of Terah. Terah begat Abram, 2 7 
(J) Nahor, and Haran j and Haran begat Lot. And Harail 28 

died in tlie presence of his father Terah in the 'land 
of his nativity, ''in Ur of the Chaldees.* And Ahrani and 29 

"2:4, etc. "24:7.01.48:6. 1615.7.01.24:4,7. 

* The great Flood interpolation is supposed to end at about this point, where the 
genealogy of Abram from Shem, the Flood survivor, coincides with that from Shem 
the brother of Japheth and Canaan. Ur of the Chaldees is a name which cannot 
belong to the earlier form of the text, since Haran (xxiv. 4, 7) in Aram Nahar- 
aim, and not Ur Chasdim in southern Babylonia, was Abram's fatherland ; and 
would naturally be the land of Haran's nativity. So Chesed, father of the Chasdim 
or Chaldees in Gen. xxii. 22, is nephew to Abraham. Hence the strong disposition 
among critics to regard " Ur Chasdim " as a last trace of the Assyro-Babylonian 
material at the point of interweaving. It is urged that Ur Chasdim is as exactly in 
place in a story of Noah the hero of a Babylonian flood story as it is out of place in 
the geographical relations of " Noah the husbandman " and his Palestinian descen- 
dants. 



120 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Nahor took them wives : the name of Abram's wife 
was Sarai ; and the name of Nahor's wife, "Milcah, 
the daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the 

30 father of Iscah. And Sarai was "barren ; she had no 

31 (P) child. And Terah took Abra?n his son, and Lot the son of 
Haran, his sons son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son 
Abram's wife ; and they went forth with them * from Ur of the 
Chaldees, to go into ^^the land of Canaan ; and they came untD 

32 Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were two hun- 
dred a?id five years : and Terah died iti Haran. 

12 (J) Now Yahweh said unto Abram, Get thee out of 
'thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy 
father's house, unto 'the land that I will shew thee : 

2 and 'I will make of thee a great nation, and I will 
bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou 

3 a blessing : and *I will bless them that 'bless thee, and 
him that curseth thee will I curse : and in thee shall 

4 all the families of the earth be blessed. f So Abram 
went, as Yahweh had spoken unto him ; and Lot went 
(P) with him : — and Abra^n was seventy and five years old 

5 when he departed out of Haran.X — ^And Abraiii took Sarai his 
wife, and Lot his brother's son, a?id all their substa?ice that they 
had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and 
they went forth to go into ''the lajid of Canaan j and into the land 

6 {]) of Canaan they came. And Abram passed through 
the land unto the place of Shechem, unto the 'oak of 
Moreh.i 'And the Canaanite was then in the land. 

7 And Yahweh appeared unto Abram, and said ; "Unto 

i622:2off. "15:2. "Ct. 12:1. iNum. 10:30. 2Ct. 11:31. = Ex. 32:10; Num. 14:12. 
^27 ; 29 ; Num. 24 : 9. ^28 : 14. Cf. 48 : 20 ; Jer. 23 : 22. Ct. 18 : 18 ; 22 : 18 ; c6 : 4. ^jiiiS; 
36:7:46:6. '11:31. "35:4; Jos.' 24: 26. "i^: 7. 24:3, 37. "15:7. 

* Translate with Sam. LXX. Vulg. "and brought them forth." 

tOr "bless themselves," i. e. invoke a blessing. Cf. Gen. xlviii. 20. 

:j: Insert after 5^. 

II I. e. " Soothsayer's oak," cf. Jud. iv. 5, " the palm tree of Deborah," and ix. 37, 
"the augur's oak." To hayn-maqoin, " the place," vs. 6, B. Stade gives the specific 
sense "the sacred place," i. e. shrine, or bamah, of Shechem. Cf. II Kings v. n. 
(Heb.) and note to x.xviii. 11. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 131 

thy seed will I give this land : "and there builded he 
an altar unto Tahweh, who appeared unto him. And 8 
he "removed from thence unto the mountain on the 
east of Beth-el, and pitched his tent, having Beth-el 
on the west, and Ai on the east : and "there he builded 
an altar unto Tahweh, and "called upon the name of 

Yahweh. And Abram journeyed, going on stUl toward the south. 9 

■^And there was a '•'famine in the land : and Abram went down 10 
into Egypt to sojourn there ; for the famine was sore in the land. 
And it came to pass, when he was come near to enter into Eg-ypt, 11 
that he said unto Sarai his wife, ''Behold now, I know that thou 
art '^a fair woman to look upon : and it shall come to pass, when 12 
the Egyptians shall see thee, that they shall say. This is his wife : 
and they will kill me, hut they will save thee alive. Say, I pray 13 
thee, thou art my sister : that it may be well with me for thy sake, 
and that my soul may live because of thee. And it came to pass, 14 
that, when Abram was come into Egypt, the Egyptians beheld the 
woman that she was very fair. And the princes of Pharaoh saw 15 
her, and praised her to Pharaoh : and the woman was taken into 
Pharaoh's house. And he entreated Abram well for her sake: 16 
''and he had sheep, and oxen, and he-asses, and manservants, and 
maidservants, and she-asses, and camels. And Yahweh plagued 17 
Pharaoh and Ws house t with great plagues because of Sarai Abram's 
wife. And Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ^"What is this that 18 
thou hast done unto me ? why didst thou not tell nie that she was 
thy wife % Why saidst thou. She is my sister % so that I took her 19 
to be my wife : now therefore behold thy wife, take her, and go 
thy way. And Pharaoh gave men charge concerning him ; and 20 
they ^'brought him on the way, and his wife, and all that he had. 

And Abram went up out of Egypt, lie, and his wife, and all that he had, and 1.3 

Lot with iiini, into the South. Aud Ahram was vcrj rich in cat- 2 

tie, in silver, and in gold. And he went on his journeys from the 3 

11 V. S. Ct. 33:20. Jos. 24:1, 26. 1226:22. i3Ct. 35:7. 144:26, etc. i5Cf. chh. 20 
and 26. i'^26:i. i"i6: 2 ; 18 : 27, 31 ; 19: 2, 8, 19 ; 27 :2. i^Ct. 12 .-4 ; 17 : 17. 1^30:43 ; 32 : 5. 
203:13; 4:10. 2118: 16. 

* Xii. 9 and xiii. 3f form the seams by which the story of the rape of Sarai is sup- 
posed to have been connected with the J narrative at this point, the latter verses 
bringing us back to the scene and circumstances of xii. 8. The story itself is quite 
in the style of J, and although it duplicates the story of Gen. xxvi., very probably 
belongs to this author. Critics who take this view insert it at some point subse- 
quent to the separation of Lot, since the story itself seems to ignore him. 

tFrom its position (Heb. after "plagues'") this clause appears to be an editorial 
adaptation to xx. i7f. The plagues here referred to are supposed by most critics 
to be those related in a different tradition in Ex. vi.iT. 



122 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Sonth even to Beth-el, unto Hhe place where his tent had been ^at the beginning, 

4 between Beth-el and Ai ; unto the place of the altar, which he had made there ^at 

5 the first: and 'there AbraAi called on the name of Yahweh. And Lot eIsOj 

which went with Ahram, had flocks, and herds, and 

6 (P) tents. ^ And the land was not able to bear them, that they 
(J) ffiight dtvell together : for their substance was great, SO that 

7 they could not dwell together. And there was a 

strife between the herdmen of Abram's cattle and the 
herdmen of Lot's cattle : 'and the Canaanite and the 

8 Perizzite dwelled then in the land. And Ahram said 
unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between 
me and thee, and between my herdmen and thy herd- 

9 men ; for we are brethren. Is not the whole land be- 
fore thee? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me: if 
[thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the 
right ; or if [thou take] the right hand, then I will 

10 go to the left. And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld 
all the Plain of Jordan, that it was well watered 
every where, 'before Yahweh destroyed Sodom and 
Gomorrah, like 'the garden of Yahweh, like the land of 

11 Egypt, as 'thou goest unto Zoar.* So Lot chose him 
all the Plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east : 

12 (P) and they separated themselves the one from the other. Abram 
dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot diuelled in the cities of 

13 (J) the Plain, and 'moved his tent as far as Sodom. — Now 
the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners against 

14 Yahweh exceedingly. — And Yahweh said unto Abram, after 
that Lot was separated from him, "Lift up now thine eyes, and 
look from the place where thou art, northward and southward 

15 and eastward and westward: for all the land which thou seest, to 

16 thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy 
seed as the dust of the earth : so that if a man can number the 

17 dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, 

ii2:S. 2Cf. 41:21; 43:18, 20. Ct. 1:1. 3Cf. 36:7. Ct. V. 7 and ch. 27. '^it-.ia. 
'^12:6, etc. «Ch. 19. '2:8. «io:i9, 30. 'V. 18. 1 "12: 2, 7 ; 28: 14 ; 15 : 18. 

* We must either read Zoaw (Tanis on the eastern frontier of Egypt, Num. xiii. 22) 
or omit the preceding clause. Zoar on the barren promontory projecting into the 
Dead Sea could hardly be compared to the garden of Yahweh (i. e. Eden) and wa.s 
not on the way to Egypt. Zoar is here given as the southern limit of the fertile 
land. Read " until thou comest unto Zoar." Cf. xix. 20-22 and x. iq, 30. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 123 

walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of 
it; for unto thee will I give it.* And Aljram "moved i8 
his tent, and came and dwelt ''by the oaksf of Mamre, 
which are in Hehron, and huilt there an altar unto 
Yahweh. 

(R) And% it came to pass in the days of Amraphel king of Ski- 14 
nar, Arioch king of Ellasar, Chedorlaomer king of Elain, and 
Tidal king of Goiim, that they made war with Bera king of Sod- 2 
07n, atid with Birsha king of Gomorrah, Shinab king of Admah, 
and Shemeber king of Zeboiim and the king of Beta {the same is 
Zoar). All these joined together in the vale of Siddim {the same 3 
is the Salt Sea). Twelve years they served Chedorlaomer, and in 4 
the thirteenth year they rebelled. And in the fourteenth year 5 
ca7ne Chedorlaomer, and the kings that were with him, and smote 
the Rephaim in Ashteroth-karnaim, and the Zusiin in Ham, and 
the Efnim in Shave hkiriathaim, and the Horites in their mount 6 
Seir, unto El-paran, which is by the wilderness. And they re- 7 
turned, and catne to En-mishpat {the same is Kadesh), and smote 
all the cotcntry of the Anialekites, and also the Amorites, that 
dwelt in Hazazontatnar. And there went out the king of Sodom, 8 
atid the king of Gomorrah, and the king of Admah, and the king 
ef Zeboiim, and the king of Beta {the same is Zoar) ; and they set 
the battle in array against them in the vale of Siddim ; against 9 
Chedorlaomer king of Elam, and Tidal king of Goiim, and Am- 
raphel kijig of Shinar, and Arioch king of Ellasar ; four kings 
against the five. Now the vale of Siddim was full of slime pits; 10 
atid the kings of Sodofn and Gotnorrah fied, and they fell there, 
afid they that remained fed to the mountain. And they took all 11 
the goods of Sodotn and Gomorrah, and all their victuals, and 



* Verses 14-17 are generally regarded as due to supplementary interpolation, 
partly on the ground of style, partly because ch. xv. (J and E) seems to show an 
unconsciousness of such a promise having already preceded it. From the critical 
standpoint it takes the place of ch. xv., now deferred by the insertion of xiv., but 
which originally followed immediately upon vs. i8 and formed the contrast to Lot's 
unblessed appropriation of the Kikkar. The repetition of the subject " Lot " in vs. 
iia is explained when verses 14-17 are dropped, as forming a contrast. Read, "So 
Lot . . but Abram." — Insert vs. 13 after xviii. 16. 

t Originally perhaps, a singular referring to the sacred tree of Hebron near the 
altar. Cf. "the tree " xviii. 4 and LXX. singular ^a.yi'zVw. 

J The dominant school of criticism regards this chapter as a '" midrash" of late 
Babylonian origin. The date in the period of a Babylonian monarch is urged in 
support of this view, as well as other singularities of style, language and subject 
matter. 



124 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

12 went their way. And they took Lot, Abratn's brother's son, who 

13 dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed. And there came 
one that had escaped, and told Abram the Hebrew ; now he dwelt 
by the '^oaks of Mamre the Amorite, brother of ^Eshcol, and brother 

14 of Aner ; and these were confederate with Abram. And when 
Abratn heard that his brother was take ft captive, he led forth his 
trained tncn, borji in his house, three hundred and eighteen, and 

15 pursued as far as ^Dan. And he divided himself against thejn by 
night, he and his servants, and smote them, and pursued them 

16 unto Hobah, which is on the left hand of Dainascus. And he 
brought back all the goods, and also brought again his brother 

17 Lot, and his goods, and the womeji also, and the people. And the 
king of Sodom went otit to meet him, after his return from the 
slaughter of Chedorlaomer and the kings that were with him, at 

18 the vale of Shaveh {the same is the King's Vale). And'^Melchise- 
dek king of ^ Salem brought forth bread and wine : and he was 

19 priest of God Most High. Aiid he blessed him, and said. Blessed 

20 be Abratn of God Most High,* possessor of heaven and earth: and 
blessed be God Most High, which hath delivered thitie enemies in- 

21 to thy hand. And he gave hiftt a ''tenth of all. And the king of 
Sodo?n said unto Abram, Give me the persons, and take the goods 

22 to thyself. And Abratn said to the king of Sodom, I have lift up 
mine hand unto Yahweh, God Most High, possessor of heaven and 

23 earth, that I will not take a thread nor a shoelatchet ttor aught 
that is thine, lest thoti shouldest say, I have made Abratn rich: 

24 save only that which the young ttien have eat e ft, atid the portion 
of the men which wetit with me ; Aner, Eshcol,\ atid Mamre, let 
thettt take their portion 

15 (E) After these things the word of Yahweh came unto 

Abram in a Vision, saying, Fear not, Abram : I am thy 

2 (J) shield, [and] thy exceeding great reward.^ — Aud 

113:18. 2Nuin. 1-5:23. 3Ct. Jud. 18:29. '*Jos.io:i. 5Ps.76:3. 628:22. 122:1,20; 
39:7; 40:1 ; 48: 1. 2^6:2^ and V. 5. Ct. v. 8ff. 

*The expression, "Blessed be — of" — , found nowhere else in Scripture in this 
form, has been recently discovered by Sayce in the inscription of some Semitic 
pilgrims to Egypt of the age of Jeremiah, of whom one subscribes himself " Servant 
of Nebo." The only certainty regarding the inscription is the fact that the writers 
were of the time of the Exile and were Semites but not Hebrews, with some pro- 
bability that they came from Mesopotamia. (See Hebraica for July, 1890.) 

tCf. Num. xiii. 24. 

ifin XV. iff the analysis is very difficult and results are put forward with diffi- 
dence. Still the evidence for the presence of E afforded by the form of theophany 
(communications from the Deity in E are received in visions of the night. See 
Num. xii. 6 (E)), and by the language, is among the critics generally accepted 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 125 

Atoram said, '0 Lord Yahweh , what wilt thou give me, 
(E) seeing I go childless, and he that shall be possessor 3 
of my house is Dammesek Eliezer*? — And Abram said, 
(J) Behold, to me thou hast given no seed : — f and, lo, one 
horn in my house is mine heir. And, hehold, the word 4 
of Yahweh came unto him, saying. This man shall not 
he thine heir; hut he that shall come forth out of 
(E) thine own howels shall he thine heir. And he 5 
brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward 
heaven, and tell the ^stars, if thou be able to tell them : 
and he said unto him. So shall thy seed be. [ . . . J 
(J) And he 'believed in Yahweh ; and he counted it to 6 
him for righteousness.^— And he said unto him, I am 7 
Yahweh that 'brought thee out of 'Ur of the Chaidees, 
to give thee this land to inherit it. And he said, 8 
"Lord Yahweh, whereby shall I know that I shall in- 
herit it? And he said unto him. Take me an heifer 9 
of three years old, and a she-goat of three years old, 
and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and 
a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and di- 10 
vided them in the midst, and laid each half over 

318:27-32; Ex. 4:10, 13; 34:9. «v. I. Ct. 8ff. 6Ex. 14:31. 812:1. ■'11:28. 8V.2. 

as conclusive, while the simultaneous narration of two episodes, one of which, 
the covenant to give the land, is transacted during the day, and the other, the 
promise of a son, during the night, contributes to make the duplicate character 
of the text apparent. Josh. xxiv. iff (E) refers to a story of Abraham's call differ- 
ing from chaps, xii.ff, and on this ground the existence of an E story corresponding 
to J, xii.-xv., is assumed by the critics a priori. The chapter being admittedly 
difficult and uncertain in the details of analysis, the author has proceeded indepen- 
dently, referring the reader for authorities to the tables of Hebraica iv. (1888) and 
for the evidence in support of his own analysis to Hebraica for October, 1890. — 
"The word of Yahweh," vs. i, for which in E we should expect " Elohim " (cf. 
XX. 8) is explained as assimilated by R to vs. 4. 

* In vs. 2 read Eliezer of Damascus with margin R. V. The rendering of the 
Chaldee and Syriac versions, however, is only an attempt to make sense out of a 
text perhaps corrupt, certainly confused by a punning collocation of beitmesek, 
"possessor," and Damtnesek, "Damascus." All that is clear is that the servant's 
name was Eliezer, whereas in ch. xxiv. (J) he appears simply as " Abraham's 
servant." 

t Critics invert the order of -zb and 3a. 

t Insert 1-6 after 7-18.— The impression one naturally receives that this verse 
forms the conclusion of the narrative of J (cf. Ex. xiv. 31 [J]) is probably correct. 
See the article above referred to. 



126 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

11 against the other : but the birds divided he not. And 
the birds of prey came down upon the carcases, and 

12 (E) Abram drove them away. And when the sun was going 
down, 'a deep sleep fell upon Abram : and, lo, an horror of great 

13 darkness fell upon him. And he said unto Abram, Know of a 
surety that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is 

14 not theirs, and shall serve them. [ . . . ] and they shall afflict 
them '"four hundred years ; and also that nation, whom they shall 
serve, will I judge : and afterward shall they come out with gjeat 

15 "substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace ; thou 

16 shalt be buried in a good old age. And in the '^fourth 
generation they shall come hither again : for the iniquity 

17 (J) of the ''Amorite is not yet full.* And it came to pass, 
that, when the sun went down, and it was dark, be- 
hold a "smoking furnace,! and a flaming torch that 

18 ''passed between these pieces. In that day Yahweh 
made a covenant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed 
have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto 

19 the great river, the river Euphrates: the '"Kenite, and 

20 the Kenizzite, and the Kadmonite, and the Hittite, and the Periz- 

21 zite, and the Rephaim, and the Amorite, and the Canaanite, and 
the Crirgashite, and the Jebusite.:!: 

16 (P) (J) JVow ^Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children : and 

[ . . . J she had an handmaid, 'an Egyptian, whose 
2 name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Be- 
hold now, Yahweh hath restrained me from bearing ; 

92:21. loCf. Ex. 12:40. Ct. V. 16. "12:5; 13:6. etc. '^Ex. 6:i6ff. Ct. V. 14. "Num. 
21:21 ; Jos. 24:8, 12. >4Ex. 13:21; 19:18. isjer. 34 : iSf. Ct. ch. 17. i^Ex. 3 :8, 17 ; 
13 : 5 ; 23 : 20, 28 ; 33 : 2, etc. ^Ct. 11 : 30. ^12 : 16. Ct. 21 : 21. 

♦Verses 12-16 introduce a new subject not connected with that of vv. 8-11, the 
formal conveyance of the land by covenant to Abram (cf. Jer. xxxiv. i8f). They 
seem even discordant among themselves unless the four generations of vs. 16 can be 
supposed to equal the four hundred years of vs. 13. On this account and because of 
the style and language (' 'Amorite" is used by E where J employs "Canaanite") critics 
regard these verses as interpolated. It is difficult, however, to assign an adequate 
motive for interpolation unless a part of the material at least is derived from one of 
the sources (E). As between 12 and 17, vs. 17, which resumes the thread of vs. 12, 
may perhaps be due to R in the portion which duplicates vs. 12, and 12, l^b, be the 
true J portion ; this however is immaterial, as the sense is identical. 

t" Smoke as from a furnace," Kautzsch and Socin. Cf. Gen. xix. 28 and Ex. xix. 
18 (J). 

X Supplementary redaction. See note on x. i6fE. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 137 

go in, I pray tiiee, unto my handmaid ; it may be that 
I shail obtain children by her. And Abrani heark- 

(P) ened to the voice of Sarai. And Sarai Abrani s wife 3 
took Hagar the Egyptian, her handmaid, after Abram had dwelt 
ten years in the '^la?id of Canaan, and gave her to Abram her hus- 

( J) band to be his wife. And he went in unto Hagar, and 4 
she conceived : and when she saw that she had con- 
ceived, her mistress was despised in her eyes. 'And 5 
Sarai said unto Abram, 'My wrong be upon thee: I 
gave my handmaid into thy bosom ; and when she saw 
that she had conceived, I was despised in her eyes : 
'Yahweh judge between me and thee. But Abram 6 
said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid is in thy hand ; do 
to her that which is good in thine eyes. And Sarai 
dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her face. 
And the angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain of 7 
water in the wilderness, by the 'fountain in the way 
to Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, 8 
whence earnest thou? and whither goest thou? And 
she said, I flee from the face of my mistress Sarai. 

(JE) And the angel of Yahweh said unto her, Return to thy mistress, 9 
and ^submit thyself under her hands. And the angel of Yahweh 10 
said unto her, I will greatly multiply thy seed, that it shall not be 
(J) numbered for multitude* And the augcl of Yahwch Said 1 1 

unto her. Behold, thou art with child, and shall bear 
a son ; and thou shalt call his name Ishraael, because 
Yahweh hath heard thy affliction. And he shall be 12 

830:3. ^12:5. set. 2i:9ff. '27: 13. '31: S3; Ex. 5:21. sy. 14 ; 20: i ; 25 : i8. »Ct. v. 11. 

* From the critical standpoint verses 9, 10, are a harmonistic interpolation of JE 
designed to make possible a combination of J's story of the expulsion of Hagar 
with E's, ch. xxi., of Hagar and Ishmael. In order to be able to include both narra- 
tives it would become necessary after the first expulsion, to bring Hagar back 
again, and to omit the account of Ishmael's birth, which, vs. iif, in the opinion of 
critics, requires us to assume followed originally after vs. 14. The evidence for con- 
sidering vs. gl harmonistic is found in the different attitude assumed toward Hagar 
from that of the context. There (vs. 11) Yahweh is represented as coming to the 
rescue of Hagar to deliver her from unjust treatment. To say that Yahweh has 
heard her affliction is equivalent to a promise of deliverance, whereas the angel in 
vs. 9 commands submission. Moreover the repetition of the subject and consequent 
dislocation of the angel's communication is very striking. Cf. 9a, loa, iia. Verse 
10 may be considered even an independent interpolation. Cf. xiii. 16. 



128 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

[as] a wild-ass among men ; his hand [shall bej against 
every man, and every man's hand against him ; and 
'"he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.* 

13 And she called the name of Yah well that spake unto 
her. Thou art a God that seeth : for she said, Have I 

14 even here looked after him that seeth me? "Where- 
fore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi ; behold, it is 

15 (P) between Kadesh and Bered. [ . . . ] t ^«^ Hagar 

bare Abram a son : and Abra/n called the name of his son, which 

16 Hagar bare, Ishniael. And Abram was fourscore and six years 
old, when Hagar bare Ishmael to Abram. 

17 ^ And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, Yahweh\ ap- 
peared to Abram, and said unto him, I am '^ God Almighty ; walk 

2 before me, and be thou perfect. And I will make niy covenant 

3 between me and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And 

4 Abram fell on his face : and God talked with him, saying, As 
for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shall be the 

i"25:i8. "2:24, etc. iCf. ch. 9. 2Ex.6:2. 

* Kautzsch and Socin translate. Br soil alien seinen Verwatidlen aiifden Nacken 
sitzen. 

t Wellhausen suggests a plausible reading for 131^, the text in its present shape 
being unintelligible, and translates, " And she called the name of Yahweh that 
spake unto her El-roi : (" God of vision "—in the passive sense) for she said, " I have 
seen God and live after my seeing." (8) 

The name of the well {beer) according to the original (vowelless) text of the 
Hebrew, is L H I R ' I, and the vowels supplied in the mind of the narrator were 
certainly those which afford the translation "living one who sees." But in Jud. xv. 
gff we have found (p. 14) this word L H I supplied with the vowels e. i. to form the 
word "jawbone" or "cliff." If these are the true vowels the sense of the name 
Beer-lehi-roi is " Well of the conspicuous cliff," or " Well of Lookout Rock." But 
it is also suggested by Wellhausen that instead of R ' I we should read R ' I, 
in which case the translation would be " Well of the antelope's jawbone " (cf. 
Strabo's Onugnathos and the Well of the ass's jawbone in Jud. xv. gff), and the mis- 
understanding of the name would be accounted for through the extinction of the 
antelope and consequent obsolescence of the word. The conjectures are, of 
course, occasioned by the difficulty of supposing a well to go by the name, " Well 
of the living one who sees," if indeed the Hebrew be not more insupposable than 
the English. (8) 

% On account of Ex. vi. 2ff critics consider it impossible to suppose that P violated 
here and in xxi. ib his otherwise unbroken use of Elohim, " God, ' or El Shaddai, 
"God Almighty," especially as the personal name here would be in discordance 
with the first words of address immediately following. The same alteration is 
assumed to have taken place here, which the evidence of Sam. Targ. and Vulg. goes 
to show took place in vii. 9. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 129 

father of a multitude of nations. Neither shall thy name any 5 
more be called Abrani, but thy name shall be Abraham : for the 
father of a multitude of nations have I made thee. And I will 6 
7nake thee exceeding fruitful., and I will make nations of thee, 
and kings shall co77ie out of thee. And I will establish my cove- 7 
nant between me and thee and thy seed after thee throughoict their 
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee and 
to thy seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed 8 
after thee, the land of thy sojournings, all the land of Canaan, for 
an everlasting possession j and I will be their God. A?td God 9 
said unto Abraham, And as for thee, thou shalt keep my covenant, 
thou, and thy seed after thee throughout their generations. This 10 
is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy 
seed after thee ; every male among you shall be circumcised. And 1 1 
ye shall be circu7ticised in the flesh of your foreskin ; ^and it shall 
be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight 1 2 
days old shall be circumcised among you, every male throughout 
your generations, he that is bom in the house, or bought with money 
of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy 13 
house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circum- 
cised : and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting 
covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in 14 
the flesh of his foreskin, that sotcl shall be cut off from his people j 
he hath broken my covenant. 

And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt 15 
not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be. And I 16 
will bless her, and moreover I will give thee a son of her : yea, I 
will bless her, and she shall be \a mother of\ nations ; * kings of 
peoples shall be of her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and 17 
^laughed, and said in his heart. Shall a child be born unto him that 
is an hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years old, 
bear ? And Abraham said u?ito God, Oh that Ishmael might live 18 
before thee ! And God said. Nay, but Sarah thy wife shall bear 19 
thee a son j and thou shalt call his name Isaac : ^and I will estab- 
lish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his seed 
after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee : behold, I 20 

39:12! *35:ii. set. i8:i2ff. ^w. 2, 4, 7, ii, 13, 21. 



130 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply 
him exceedingly j ''twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make 
2 1 him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, 
which Sarah shall bear unto thee ^at this set time in the next year. 
2 2 And he left off talking with him, and ^God %ve7it up from Abra- 
23 ha7n. And Abraham took Ishmael his son, and all that were born 
in his house, and all that were bought with his money, every male 
among the men of Abraham' s house, and circumcised the flesh of 
their foreskin ^"in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. 
2 if And Abraham was Jiinety years old and nine, ivhen he was cir- 
25 cumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishtnael his son was 
^^ thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the flesh of his 
2(i foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham circumcised, and 
27 Ishmael his son. And all the men of his house, those born in the 
house, and those bought with money of the stranger, were circum- 
cised with him. 
18 (J) And Yahweh appeared unto him by the 'oaks* of 
Mamre, as he sat in the tent door 'in the heat of the 

2 day ; and he lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three 
men stood over against him : and when he saw them, 
'he ran to meet them from the tent door, and howed 

3 himself to the earth, and said, 'My lord, 'if now I 
have found favour in thy sight, pass not away, I pray 

4 thee, from thy servant : let now a little water be 
fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves un- 

5 der 'the tree : and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and 
comfort ye your heart ; after that ye shall pass on : 
'forasmuch as ye are come to your servant. And they 

6 said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abraham has- 
tened into the tent unto Sarah, and said. Make ready 
quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and 

7 make cakes. And Abraham ran unto the herd, and 
fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it unto the 

8 servant ; and he hasted to dress it. And he took but- 

'25:16. 821:2. *35:i3. '"yiHiia. V. 26. "01.21:9,14,15,16. '13:18. ^3 . s. 
^24 : 17 ; 29 : 13 ; 33 : 4. ''32 : Si 18, etc. Cf. 19 : 2ff. ^19 : 19 ; 30 : 27 ; 32 : 5 ; 33 : 8, 10, etc. 
•v. 8. Ct. V. I. Tig :8; 33:10; 38:26; Num. 10:31; 14:43. €1.41:39. 

* Better, perhaps, " oak." Cf. vv. 4 and 8 and note on Gen. xiii. 18. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 131 

ter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and 
set it before them ; and he stood by them under the 
tree, and they did eat. And they said unto him, 9 
Where is Sarah thy wife? And he said. Behold, in 
the tent. And he said, 'I will certainly return unto 10 
thee when the season cometh round ; and, lo, Sarah 
thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard in the 
tent door, which was behind him. Now Abraham and 1 1 
Sarah were *old, [and] well stricken in age ; it had 
ceased to be with Sarah after the "manner of women. 
And "Sarah laughed within herself, saying. After I 12 
am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old 
also? And Yahweh said unto Abraham, Wherefore 13 
did Sarah laugh, saying. Shall I of a surety bear a 
child, which am old ? Is any thing too hard for Yah- 14 
weh ? At the set time I will return unto thee, when 
the season cometh round, and Sarah shall have a son. 
Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she 15 
was afraid. And he said. Nay ; but thou didst laugh.* 

And the men rose up from thence, and "looked to- 16 
ward Sodom : and Abraham went with them "to bring 
them on the way. And Yahweh said, Shall 1 hide from Abra- 1 7 
ham that which I do : seeing that Abraham shall surely become 18 
a great and mighty nation, and all the '^nations of the earth shall 
be blessed in him 2 For I have known him, to the end that he 19 
may command his children and his household after him, that they 
may keep the way of Yahweh, to do justice and judgement ; to the 
end that Yahweh may bring upon Abraham that which lie hath 
spoken of him.f And Yahweh said. Because "the cry 20 

821:1. *24:i;2i:7. '"0^31:35. ^'Ct. 17 : 17 ; 21 : 6f, 9 ; 26: 8. 1^19 :27f ; Num. 21 : 20. 
'^12: 20. '■'Cf. 22 : 18 ; 26 :4. Ct. 12 :3 ; 28 : 14. '^4:10 13:13. 

*The name Isaac has given rise to many etymologizing stories which seek in 
various ways to connect it with the stem Q H Q "to laugh." Thus in xvii. 17 (P), 
" Abram laughed ;" here (J), " Sarah laughed." In (E) xxi. da Sarah says "God 
hath prepared laughter for me," and so names the child Ytghaq ; but the same 
author has a further play upon the name in verse 9 of the same chapter. Xxi. 6b 
seems, further, to be a different version (J) from 6a (E) of the sense of Sarah's utter- 
ance (" Everyone will laugh ai" me "), and (J) has still a third play upon the name 
in xxvi. 8. This reduplication is one of the indications which point to a collection of 
popular traditions as the ultimate source of J and E. 

+ Didactic interpolation. 



132 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their 
21 sin is very grievous; "I will go down now, and see 

whether they have done altogether * according to the 

cry of it, which is come unto me ; and if not, I will 
2 2 know. And the men turned from thence, and went 

toward Sodom: Mt Abraham stood yet before Taliweh.f 

23 And Abraham drew near, and "said, Wilt thou consume the right- 

24 eous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous 
within the city : wilt thou consume and not spare the place for 

25 the fifty righteous that are therein ? That be far from thee to do 
after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so 
the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from thee: 

26 shall not the Judge of all the earth do right 2 And Yahweh said. 
If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare 

27 all the place for their sake. And Abraham answered and said. 
Behold now, I have taken upon me to speak unto '^the Lord, which 

28 am but "dust and ashes : peradventure there shall lack five of the 
fifty righteous: wilt thou destroy all the city for lack of five? 
And he said, I will not destroy it, if I find there forty and five. 

29 And he spake unto him yet again, and said, Peradventure there 
shall be forty found there. And he said, I will not do it for the 

30 forty's sake. And he said. Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will 
speak : peradventure there shall thirty be found there. And he 

31 said, I will not do it, if I find thirty there. And he said. Behold 
now, I have taken upon me to speak unto the Lord : peradventure 
there shall be twenty found there. And he said, I will not destroy 

32 it for the twenty's sake. And he said. Oh let not the Lord be an- 
gry, and I will speak yet but this once : peradventure ten shall be 
found there. And he said, I will not destroy it for the ten's sake. 

1811 : 5, 7; Ex. 3:8. "C£. Ex. 32:iiff ; Num. i4:i3ff. Ct. v. 21. 1815 :2, 8 ; vv. 3off ; 
Ex. 4:10, 13. i='2:7. 

* The word "cry" as used by J has a special sense. Oppression or evil doing, 
apart from any protest or appeal of the oppressed, besieges the divine ear with its 
clamor. Abel's blood, iv. 10, Hagar's wrong, xvi. 11, Israel's oppression, Ex. iii. 7, 
produce a "cry," and Yahweh comes down to intervene. Accordingly, "cry" in 
vs. 21 is something more than " report " or " scandal," and Olshausen's conjectural 
reading "all" instead of "altogether" is to be commended. Yahweh cannot doubt 
the "cry," he comes down to see whether they have "all" gone astray, not to see 
whether he was " altogether" right in his apprehension of the facts. The conjecture 
relieves vs. 21 of an unnecessary load of anthropomorphism. (9) 

+ One of the few textual amendments which Jewish tradition brings to light is 
afforded in vs. 22i^. The present reading, violating the requirement of the context, 
is enumerated among the tiqqunei sopherim or " corrections of the scribes " for an 
original "Yahweh stood still before Abraham," which was rejected as irreverent. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 133 

And Tahweli went his way, as soon as lie had left communing with 33 
Abraham :* and Abraham returned unto his place. 

'And the two angelst came to Sodom at even ; and 19 
Lot sat in the gate of Sodom : and Lot saw them, and 
'rose up to meet them ; and he howed himself with 
his face to the earth ; and he said. Behold now, my 2 
lords, turn aside, I pray you, into your servant's 
house, and tarry all night, and wash your feet, and 
ye shall rise up early, and go on your way. And they 
said. Nay ; hut we will ahide in the street all night. 
And he urged them greatly ; and they turned in unto 3 
him, and entered into his house ; and he made them 
a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and they did 
eat. But before they lay down, the men of the city, 4 
[eyen] the men of Sodom, compassed the house round, 
both young and old, all the people 'from every quar- 
ter; and they called unto Lot, and said unto him, 5 
Where are the men which came in to thee this night ? 

iCf. Jud. 19. =18: iff. 847:21. 

* Some of the best critics regard vv. 22^-33(2: as a didactic interpolation designed 
to relieve the appearance of wholesale, undiscriminating slaughter of whole cities. 
By means of it, it is made clear that a// the inhabitants of the Kikkar were vicious, 
therefore "the Judge of all the earth " did right. Evidence for regarding the pas- 
sage as interpolated is found partly in the contrast in the conception of Abraham's 
relation to Yahweh ; the familiar terms of the first part of the chapter, and the rev- 
erence of address here (cf. vs. 27) ; but mainly in its premature assumption that 
Yahweh intends to destroy the cities (cf. vs. 23 with vs. 21), really a consequence of 
ch. xix. — It is significant that the basis of chh. xviii.f is characterized by an extreme 
anthropomorphism (vs. 8, 2off) like that of the older parts of J in chh. i.-xi. If Well- 
hausen's conjecture (see note following) as to ch. xix. is correct, the story in its 
original form would be intolerable to any of the biblical writers. In any case, 
these chapters present to the eye of all critics the appearance of having undergone 
systematic modification for the elevation of the original material to meet a higher 
religious standpoint. In favor of regarding J, the author of the history, as himself 
the modifier, is {a) the distinctive color of style and language in vv. 23-33, which is 
indistinguishable from J's, and {b) the frequent recurrence of poetic words and 
phrases in the older material (cf. e. g. xii. 3 with xxvii. 29, Num. xxiv. 9), as if J as a 
whole were not so much a composition as a prose version of ancient poems. Cf. 
note on ii. 10-15, and see Part III. 

+ Read "the men" (cf. xviii. 11a \ xix. 10, 12, 16; ct. vs. 15). Yahweh is certainly 
regarded by the story itself, vv. 17, 2iff, as present at Sodom. The introduction of 
xviii. 22ff stands connected with a series of alterations, as in vs. 13. Wellhausen 
i,Compos. p. 27f) calls attention to evidence for an original form of the story in 
which Yahweh appears alone (cf. xviii. 3, 10, 17 ; xix. 10, i7f). 



134 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

bring them out unto us, that we may 'know them. 

6 And Lot went out unto them to the door, and shut 

7 the door after him. And he said, I pray you, 'my 

8 brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have 
two daughters which have not known man ; let me, I 
pray you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them 
as is good in your eyes : only unto these men do noth- 
ing ; *f orasmuch as they are come under the shadow 

9 of my roof. And they said. Stand hack. And they 
said. This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will 
needs he a judge : now will we deal worse with thee, 
than with them. And they pressed sore upon the 

10 man, even Lot, and drew near to break the door. But 
the men put forth their hand, and brought Lot into 

11 the house to them, and shut to the door. And they 
smote the men that were at the door of the house with 
blindness, both small and great : so that they wearied 

12 themselves to find the door. And the men said unto 
Lot, Hast thou here any besides ? son in law, and thy 
sons,* and thy daughters, and whomsoever thou hast 

13 in the city ; bring them out of the place : for we will 
destroy this place, because 'the cry of them is waxen 
great before Yahweh ; and Yahweh hath sent us to destroy 

14 it. And Lot went out, and spake unto his sons in law, 
which married his daughters, and said. Up, get you 
out of this place ; for Yahweh will destroy the city. 
But he seemed unto his sons in law as one that mocked. 

15 And when the morning 'arose, then the angels hast- 
ened Lot, saying. Arise, take thy wife, and thy two 
daughters which are here ; lest thou be consumed in 

16 the 'iniquity of the city. But he lingered; and the 
men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the hand of 
his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters: 
Yahweh being merciful unto him : and they brought 

17 him forth, and set him without the city. And it 

*4: i,etc. ^29:4. ^18:5, etc. 'iSizof. ^^2 124, 26. °4 : 13. 
♦Read "thy sons-in-law." Cf. vs. 14. (10) 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 135 

came to pass^ when they brought them forth abroad, 
that he said. Escape for thy life : look not behind thee, 
neither stay thou in all the Plain ; escape to the 
mountain, lest thou be consumed. And Lot said unto i8 
them. Oh, not so, my lord : behold now, thy servant 19 
hath "found grace in thy sight, and thou hast mag- 
nified thy mercy, which thou hast shewed unto me in 
saving my life ; and I cannot escape to the mountain, 
lest evil overtake me, and I die : behold now, this city 20 
is near to flee unto, and it is a little one : Oh, let me 
escape thither, (is it not a little one?) and my soul 
shall live. And he said unto him. See, I have"ac- 21 
cepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not 
overthrow the city of which thou hast spoken. Haste 22 
thee, escape thither ; for I cannot do any thing till 
thou be come thither. ''Therefore the name of the 
city was called Zoar. "The sun was risen upon the 23 
earth when Lot came unto Zoar. Then Yahweh rained 24 
upon Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from 
Yahweh out of heaven ; and he overthrew those cities, 25 
and all the Plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, 
and that which grew upon the ground. [ . . ] But 26 
his wife looked back from behind him, and she became 
a pillar of salt. And Abraham gat up early in the 27 
morning to ''the place where he had stood before Yah- 
weh : and he looked toward Sodom and Gomorrah, and 28 
toward all the laud of the Plain, and beheld, and, lo, 
the smoke of the land went up ''as the smoke of a fur- 
nace. 

(P) — And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the 29 
Plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the 
midst of the overthrow, when he overthrew the cities in the which 
Lot dwelt. ^ — 

(J) And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the 30 
mountain, and his two daughters with him; for he 

lOiSis, etc. "4:7; 32:20. 1^2:24, etc. 1832:31. 1418:16,22. "^is : 17 ; Ex. 19 :i8. 
* Verse 29 should perhaps be inserted after xiii. 12a. 



136 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

feared to dwell in Zoar : and he dwelt in a cave, he and 

31 his two daughters. And the '"firsthorn said unto the 
'"younger. Our father is old, and there is not a man 
in the earth to come in unto us after the manner of 

32 all the earth : come, let us make our father drink 
wine, and we will lie with him, that we may preserve 

zz seed of our father. And they made their father drink 
wine that night : and the firstborn went in, and lay 
with her father ; and he knew not when she lay down, 

34 nor when she arose. And it came to pass on the mor- 
row, that the firstborn said unto the younger. Behold, 
I lay yesternight with my father : let us make him 
drink wine this night also; and go thou in, and lie 
with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also: 
and the younger arose, and lay with him ; and he knew 

36 not when she lay down, nor when she arose. Thus 
were both the daughters of Lot with child by their 

37 father. And the firstborn bare a son, and called his 
name Moab* "the same is the father of the Moabites 

38 unto this day. And the younger; she also bare a son, 
and called his name Ben-ammi : "the same is the fa- 
ther of the children of Ammon unto this day.* 

20 (E) 'And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the 
land of the South, and dwelt ^between Kadesh and Shur ; 

2 and he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah 
his wife, She is my sister : and Abimelech king of Gerar 

3 sent, and took Sarah. [ . . . ] But 'God came to Abim- 

"Cf. 29:26. Ct. 29: i6f. i'4:2of, etc. iCt. i2:ioff ; ch. 26. 216:14. ^vv. 6: 11, 13, 17. 
etc. ; Ex. 3 : isf. Ct. 4 : i, etc. 

*The passage, xix. 30-38, is a repulsive exhibition of the malignant wit of the 
people, exercised upon the names of the kindred tribes Ammon and Moab, the first 
by a punning etymology being derived from ben-ammi, "son of my people," and 
the second, in an equally forced derivation, from wzaz, "water," or the preposition 
min, " from," and ab, " father." — The implied contrast in feeling toward Moab and 
Ammon with that of previous chapters (cf. Dt. ii. 9 and 19), is sufficient to prove 
a diverse origin for the traditions, the present saga perhaps reflecting the exasper- 
ated feeling of Israel during the Syrian wars (II. Kings xiii. 20; Amos i. 13; Dt. 
xxiii. 3) but does not warrant the assumption of diverse authorship. See note to 
xviii. 33. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 137 

elech ''in a dream of the night, and said to him, Behold, 
thou art but a dead man, because of the woman which 
thou hast taken ; for she is a man's wife. Now Abimelech 4 
had not come near her : and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay 
even a righteous nation ? Said he not himself unto me, 5 
She is my sister ? and she, even she herself said, He is my 
brother : in the integrity of my heart and the innocency 
of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him 6 
*in the dream. Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy 
heart thou hast done this, and I also withheld thee from 
sinning against me : therefore suffered I thee not to touch 
her. Now therefore restore the man's wife ; for ^he is a 7 
prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live : 
and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt 
surely die, thou, and all that are thine. And Abimelech 8 
rose early in the morning, and called all his servants, and 
told all these things in their ears : and the men were sore 
afraid. Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto 9 
him, What hast thou done unto us ? and wherein have I 
sinned against thee, that "^thou hast brought on me and on 
my kingdom a great sin ? thou hast done deeds unto me 
that ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto 10 
Abraham, What sawest thou, that thou hast done this 
thing ? And Abraham said. Because I thought. Surely the 1 1 
fear of God is not in this place ; and they will slay me for 
m 5^ wife's sake. And moreover she is 'indeed my sister, 12 
the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my 
mother; and she became my wife: and it came to pass, when 13 
^God caused me to "wander from my father's house, that I 
said unto her. This is thy kindness which thou shalt shew 
unto me ; at every place whither we shall come, say of me. 
He is my brother. And Abimelech "took sheep and oxen, 14 
and menservants andwomenservants, and gave them unto Abra- 
ham, and restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech 15 
said, Behold, my land is before thee : dwell where it pleas- 

^15:1; 21:12,14; 22:1,3; 28:12; 31:10,24; 37:5,9,19; 40; 41; 46:2; Num. 12:6. 
6Num. 12:6. «Ex. 32:21. Tjos. 7:20. Ct. 18:13. sjos. 24:2! '37: 15. "Of. 21:27. 
Ct. 12 : 16. 



138 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

1 6 eth thee. And unto Sarah he said, Behold, I have given 
thy brother a thousand pieces of silver : behold, it is for 
thee a covering- of the eyes to all that are with thee ; and 

1 7 in respect of all thou art righted. And Abraham prayed 
unto God : and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, and 

1 8 his "maidservants ; and they bare children. For Yahweh 
had fast closed up all the wombs of the house of Abimelech, because 
of Sarah Abraham's wife.* 

21 (J) And Yahweli visited Sarah as lie had said, 

2 (P) (J) and Yahweh did unto Sarah '^as he had spoken. Aud 

Sarah conceived, and bare Abraham 'a son in his old 

3 (P) age, at the ^set time of which God had spoken to him. And 
Abraham called the name of his son that was born unto him, 

4 whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circumcised his 
son Isaac when he was eight days old, ^as God had comnianded 

5 him. And Abraham was an hundred years old, whe?i his son 

6 (E) Isaac was born unto him. And Sarah said, God hath 
(J) made me to 'laugh : — every one that heareth will 

7 laugh with me.t— And she said. Who would have said 
unto Abraham, that Sarah should give children suck? 
for I have borne him 'a son in his old age. 

8 (E) And the child grew, and was weaned : and Abra- 
ham made a great feast on the day that Isaac was weaned. 

9 'And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which 
lo she had borne unto Abraham, mocking. J Wherefore she 

said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: 

"21:10-13; 30:3; 31:33; Ex.2:s, etc. Ct. v. 14 ; 16:2-8; 30 : 7-18, etc. ii8:ioff; 
^^17:16, 21. 3v. 7; 37:3; 44:20. ^17: 21. 617:12,19. «Ct. 17:17; 18:12; V. 9; 26:8. 'Ct. 
16 : 4ff and 25 : 9. 

* Ch. xxi. affords evidence both of abbreviation and retouching. Yahweh in vs. 
18 in contrast to Elohim, used universally by E previous to Ex. iii. 13 for the same 
reason that P uses it previous to Ex. vi. 2, calls attention to the content of vs. 18, 
which appears to be a substitute post eventum for something omitted between 
verses 2 and 3 to which vv. 6 and 17 also refer. The second clause of vs. 14 similarly 
appears from the language (J alone uses shtphcah, "maidservant," E always 
''amah, cf. vs. 17) to be interpolated. Of. xxi. 27, and note to xxi. 23. 

t Translate, perhaps, " will laugh at me " (Job. v. 22 ; xxix. 7, 18, 22 ; Ps. lix. 9) ; 
and transpose the clause, as suggested by Budde (Urgeschichte p. 224), to the middle 
of vs. 7. For the repeated plays upon the name Isaac, cf . note to xviii. 15. 

X From the same stem as Isaac. Cf. note to xviii. 15.— Translate with margin 
(R. v.) "playing " (xxvi. 8 ; Ex. xxxii. 6 ; Jud. xvi. 25, etc.). 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 139 

for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my 
son, even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in 1 1 
Abraham's sight on account of his son. And God said un- 1 2 
to Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight because of 
the lad, and because of thy bondwoman ; in all that Sarah 
saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for in Isaac shall 
thy seed be called. And also of the son of the bondwoman 13 
will I make a nation, because he is thy seed. *And Abra- 14 
ham rose up early in the morning, and took bread and a 
bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting it on her 
shoulder, and the child,* and sent her away : and she de- 
parted, and wandered in the wilderness of 'Beer-sheba. 
And the water in the bottle was spent, and she cast the 15 
child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her 16 
down over against him a good way off, as it were a bow- 
shot : for she said. Let me not look upon the death of the 
child. And she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, 
and wept.f And God heard the voice of the lad : "and the 17 
angel of God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto 
her. What aileth thee, Hagar ? fear not ; for God hath 
heard the voice of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the 18 
lad, and hold him in thine hand ; for I will make him a 
great nation. And God opened her eyes, and she saw a 19 
well of water ; and she went, and filled the bottle with 
water, and gave the lad drink. [ . . . J And God was 20 
with the lad, and he grew ; and he dwelt in the wilderness, 
and became an archer. J And he "dwelt in the wilder- 21 

®V. 12 ; 22 : I, 3, etc. *V. 27ff ; 22 : 19. i^Cf. 22 : 11. Ct. 16 : 7. ''16 : 12 ; 25 : 18. 

*LXX. have, " and put the child upon her shoulder," etc. The present Massoretic 
text is unhebrew and is supposed by critics to be due to late correction suggested 
by the fact that according to the chronology of P (cf. xvii. 25) Ishmael must have 
been 17 or 18 years old at this time. The author, E, has of course in mind a very 
little child. Cf. vv. 15, 18, and note following. 

t Verse i63 suggests further fevidence of alteration for harmonistic purposes. 
LXX. have, " Therefore she sat down over against him. And the child lifted up its 
voice and wept." Cf. vs. 17a, "God heard the voice of the ladJ'' Hence the ety- 
mology yishma-el = " God hears." Ct. xvi. n. 

X Kautzsch and Socin translate "became an archer, a bowman." After vs. 19 JE 
has omitted, " And she called his name Ishmael," or the equivalent (cf. vs. 17), on 
account of xvi. 11. (11) 



140 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

ness of Paran : and his mother took him a wife out of the 
land of Egypt. [ . . . J 

22 '^And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and 
Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, saying, 

23 God is with thee in all that thou doest : now therefore 
swear unto me here by God that thou wilt not deal falsely 
with me, nor with my son, nor with my son's son : but 'ac- 
cording to the kindness that I have done unto thee, thou 
shalt do unto me, and to the land wherein thou hast so- 

24-25 journed. And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abra- 
ham reproved Abimelech because of the well of water, 
which Abimelech's servants had violently taken away.* 

26 And Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing: 
neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but to- 

27 day. "And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave them 

28 unto Abimelech ; and they two made a covenant. And 
Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves. 

29 And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean these 

30 seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by themselves ? And 
he said, These seven ewe lambs shalt thou take of m)^ 
hand, that it may be a witness unto me, that I have digged 

31 (J) this well.f —"Wherefore lie called that place Beer- 

32 sheba; ''because there they sware both of them. So 
they made a covenant at Beer-sheba : and Abimelech 

i226:26ff. 1320:14. 1^2:24, etc. i«26:3i. 

* Verse 25 obviously refers to something now omitted originally parallel to xxvi. 
igff . This account of ch. xx.f (E), is in fact so remarkably similar to that of ch. xxvi. 
as to suggest the objection to the analysis, " No compiler would permit materials 
so incongruous, or mutually exclusive, to stand side by side : the analysis proves 
too much." In weighing this objection the reader's attention is called to the case 
of Tatian's Diatessaron cited in ch. I. and to the article of Prof. Moore's there 
referred to. It is also to be observed that while JE permits chaps, xx.f and xxvi. to 
stand so near together with scarcely more of difference than the appearance of 
Abraham in the principal role in one case and Isaac in the other, verse 25 and the 
determinative prefix e^/i in vs. 28 ("/A^ seven ewe lambs") bear witness to a process 
of abbreviation which ch. xx.f has undergone, apparently to remove too great 
coincidence or conflict. 

t According to verse 30 the ceremony at "the Well of the Seven " is a certification 
of Abraham's right to the well, the digging of which we must suppose was related 
in the omitted portions. In ch. xxvi. the well, on the contrary, is merely a witness 
to the covenant, the fact of the treaty of friendship with Abimelech being brought 
into the foreground and commemorated by the name, " Well of the Oath.'" 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 141 

rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and "they 
returned into the land of the Philistines. And [Ahra- zz 
ham] planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheha, "and 
called there on the name of Yahweh, the Everlasting 
(E) GrOd. — And Abraham sojourned in the land of the 34 
Philistines many days.* 

'And it came to pass after these things, that God did 22 
^prove Abraham, and said unto him, 'Abraham ; and he 
said, Here am I. And he said. Take now thy son, thine 2 
only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee into 
the land of "Moriah, ; t and offer him there for a burnt offering 
upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of. And 3 
Abraham ^rose early in the morning, and saddled his ass, 
and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his 
son ; and he clave the wood for the burnt offering, and 
rose up, and went unto the place of which God had told 
him. On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and 4 
saw the place J afar off. And Abraham said unto his 5 
young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad 
will go ^yonder ; and we will worship, and come again to 
you. And Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering, 6 
and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he took in his hand the 
fire and the knife ; and they went both of them together. 
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, 'My 7 
father : and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said. Be- 
hold, the fire and the wood : but where is the lamb for a 
burnt offering? And Abraham said, 'God will provide 8 
himself the lamb for a burnt offering, my son : so they 

'^26:1,26. "'4:26,610. '15:1,610. *Ex. 16 : 4 ; 20 : 20. ^vv. 7, ii ; 27 : 1, 18 ; 31 :ii ; 
37:13; 46:2f; Ex. 3:4. ■'II. Chron. 3 : i. ^V. i. Cf. 20: 8 ; 21 : 14. ^31 : 37 ; Ex. 2: 12 ; 
Num. 23:15. 'vv. I, II ; 27: 1, 18, etc. sy. 14. 

* In vs. 33 supply Isaac instead of " Abraham " of the revisers and transpose vv. 
31-33 with xxvi. 33. For this new analysis and the conjectural readings of xxii. 2 
and 14 consult my article before referred to in Hebraica^ April, 1891. 

f'Moriah" is regarded by all critics as a late alteration connected with the 
Jehovistic verses of this chapter. Read "the Negeb" as in xx. i; xxiv. 62; Num. 
xiii. 29. 

% Some conspicuous place with a well-known altar. Cf. vs. 9, " the altar there," 
an expression scarcely to be accounted for as " the requisite altar." (Kautzsch and 
Socin.) 



143 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

9 went both of them together. And they came to the place 
which God had told him of ; and Abraham built the altar 
there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, 

10 and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham 
stretched forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. 

1 1 And the angel of Yahweh * called unto him out of heaven, 
and said, 'Abraham, Abraham : and he said. Here am I. 

1 2 And he said. Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do 
thou anything unto him : for now I know that thou "fear- 
est God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only 

13 son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, 
and behold, behind [him] a ram caught in the thicket by 
his horns : and Abraham went and took the ram, and of- 
fered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. 

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Yahweh-jireh : 
as it is said to this day. In the mount of Yahweh it shall be 

15 (JE) provided. And the angel of Yahweh called unto Abraham a 

16 second time out of heaven, and said, By myself have I sworn, saith 
Yahweh, Because thou hast done this thing, ''and hast not withheld 

17 thy son, thine only son : that in blessing I will bless thee, and in 
multiplying I will multiply thy seed '^as the stars of the heaven, and as 
i^the sand which is upon the sea shore ; and thy seed shall possess 

18 the gate of his enemies ; and in thy seed shall all the '^nations of the 

19 (E) earth be blessed ; because thou hast obeyed my voice. f So 
Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose up 
and went together to ''Beer-sheba ; and Abraham dwelt 
at ''Beer-sheba. 

20 (J) '*And it came to pass after these things, [ . . . ] that X 

9vv.i,7,etc. "20:11. iiv. 12. 1215:5. i3Ct.i3:i6. "i8:i8;26:4. Ct. 12:3:28:14. 
162i;27£f. 1815:1; 22:1, etc. 

* "Yahweh" is accounted for by assimilation of vs. 11 to vs. 15. Of. xxi. 17. 

t Apart from the use of Yahweh in the passage 1415-18, the reintroduction of the 
angel, as by afterthought, is to the critic an almost certain mark of interpolation. 
The little word "odh "again," "the second time " in such connection (cf. xxxv. 9 ; 
Josh. V. 2-9) has a suspicious character. The object of the assumed interpolation of 
the chapter is, of course, the adaptation to the Judaean point of view of a narra- 
tive of northern origin, transmitted to us through Judaean hands. In vs. 14 read 
"El-roi" and "God" for Yahweh-jireh and Yahweh. See Hebraica, April, 1891, 
and cf. Heb. note (12).— Verses 15-18 are of the usual didactic character (cf. xiii. 
14-17 ; XV. 13-16 ; xviii. i8f), but while mainly reproducing the blessing of Abram, 
xii. 1-3, substitute "nations" for the "families" of xii. 3. 

J Hebrew, "and." 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 143 

it was told Abraham, saying. Behold, "Milcah, '"she 
also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor : "Uz 21 
his firstborn, and Buz his brother, and '"Kemuel the 
father of Aram; and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, 22 
and Jidlaph, and Bethuel. "And Bethuel begat Re- 23 
bekah : these eight did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abra- 
ham's brother. And his concubine, whose name was 24 
Reumah, ''she also bare Tebah, and Oaham, and Ta- 
hash, and "'Maacah.* 

(P) ^And the life of Sarah was afi hundred atid seven and 23 
twenty years : these were the years of the life of Sarah. And 2 
Sarah died in Ki^'iath-arba [the same is Hebron), in the land of 
Canaan. And Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep 
for her. And Abraham rose up from before his dead, and spake 3 
tmto the "^children of Heth, saying, I atn a stranger a^id a sojour- 4 
ner with you : ^give me a possession of a buryingplace with you, 
that I may bury my dead out of my sight. And "^the children of 5 
Heth answered Abraham, saying unto him, Hear us, my lord : 6 
thou art a mighty prince among us : in the choice of our sepul- 
chres bury thy dead ; none of us shall withhold from thee his 
sepulchre, but that thou may est bury thy dead. And Abrahatn 7 
7-ose up, and bowed himself to the people of the land, even to the 
children of Heth. And he communed with them, saying. If it be 8 
your mind that I should bury my dead out of my sight, hear me, 
and intreat for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give 9 
me the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of 
his field s for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of 
you for a possession of a buryingplace. Now Ephron was sitting 10 

i'ii:2g. i^v. 24 ; 4 : 4, 22, 26 ; 10: 21 ; 19:38. "Ct. 10: 15, 23. "^^QX. lo-.i'zi. ^'24:4, 10, 
24. 22Dt. 3:14; Jos. 12:5; i3:iifi3- '25:7, 17, etc. ^Vv. 5, 7, 10, 16, 18, 20; 25:10; 
4q : 32. Ct. 12 : 6, etc. 3^g ; 2g£, ct. 33 : 19 ; Jos. 24 : 32. 

* The significance of this brief genealogical table is not apparent in the present 
condition of the text. Eliminate however the non-J portions, and verse 20 comes 
into immediate connection with Sarah's unexpected fruitfulness in xxi. 7 on the 
one hand, while on the other this table of the twelve tribes of north Semitic stock, 
including the genealogy of Rebekah, stands immediately before the list of twelve 
tribes of south Semitic stock (Keturites) in xxv. 1-5. This latter passage, however, 
is supposed to have preceded oh. xxiv. on account of the apparent reference in xxiv. 
36 to xxv. 5. The story of Isaac's marriage with Rebekah then followed a few lines 
after Rebekah's genealogy. 



144 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

in the midst of the children of Heth : and Ephron the Hittite 
answered Abraham in the audience of the childrett of Heth, even 

11 of all that went in at the gate of his city, saying, Nay, my Lord, 
hear me : the field give I thee, and the cave that is therein, I give 
it thee ; in the presence of the sons of my people give I it thee : 

12 bury thy dead. And Abraham bowed himself down before the 
iTy people of the land. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of 

the people of the land, saying. But if thou wilt, I pray thee, hear 
me : I ^vill give the price of the field ; take it of 7ne, a?id I will 

14 bury my dead there. And Ephron answered Abraham, saying 

15 unto him, My lord, hearken unto me : a piece of land worth *four 
hundred shekels of silver, what is that betwixt me and thee ? bury 

16 therefore thy dead. And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron j and 
Abraham weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in 
the audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of 

17 silver, current [money] with the merchant. So the field of Eph- 
ron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, the 
field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees that were 
in the field, that were in all the border thereof round about, were 

18 made sure unto Abraham for a possession in the presence of the 
children of Heth, before all that went in at the gate of his city. 

19 And after this, Abraham buried Sarah his ivife in the cave of 
the field of Machpelah before Mamre [the same is Hebron), in 

20 the land of Ca^iaan. And the field, and the cave that is therein, 
were made sure unto Abraham for a possession of a burying- 
place by the children of Heth. 

24 (J) 'And Abraham was old, [and] well stricken in 
age : and Yahweli had blessed Abraham in all things. 

2 And Abraham said unto 'his servant, the elder of his 
house, that ruled over all that he had, 'Put, I pray 

3 thee, thy hand under my thigh : and I will make thee 
swear by Yahweh, the Ood of heaven and the Ood of 
earth, that thou shalt not take a wife for my son of 
the daughters of the Canaanites, 'among whom I 

4 dwell : but thou shalt go unto 'my country, and to my 

5 kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And the 

433:19. ii8:ii. 2Ct.T5:2f. ^at.i.^. ^12 : 6. Ct. 23 : 7. 6i2:iff. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 145 

servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will 
not be willing to follow me unto this land: must I 
needs bring thy son again unto the land from whence 
thou camest ? And Abraham said unto him. Beware 6 
thou that thou bring not my son thither again. Yah- 7 
weh, the God of heaven, that 'took me from my fa- 
ther's house, and from the land of my nativity, and 
that spake unto me, and that sware unto me, saying. 
Unto thy seed will I give this land : he shall send his 
angel before thee, and thou shalt take a wife for my 
son from thence. And if the woman be not willing to 8 
follow thee, then thou shalt be clear from this my 
oath ; only thou shalt not bring my son thither again. 
And the servant put his hand under the thigh of 9 
Abraham his master, and sware to him concerning 
this matter. And the servant took ten camels, of the 10 
camels of his master, and departed ; 'having all good- 
ly things of his master's in his hand : and he arose, 
and went* to Mesopotamia! unto the city of Nahor. 
And he made the camels to kneel down without the 1 1 
city by the well of water at the time of evening, the 
time that Avomen go out to draw water. And he said, 12 

Yahweh, the God of my master Abraham, 'send me, 

1 pray thee, good speed this day, and shew kindness 
unto my master Abraham. Behold, I stand by the 13 
fountain of water ; and the daughters of the men of 
the city come out to draw water : and let it come to 14 
pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down 
thy pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ; and she 



*The superfluous "and departed" may be a mere anticipation of 10^, to be 
eliminated with LXX. So Kautzsch and Socin. 

+ The reading (R. V. margin), Aram Naharaim, i. e. Aram of the two rivers (in the 
Amarna tablets, Naharina), is alone correct. It has only an etymological resem- 
blance to "Mesopotamia." The region of Harran (xxvii. 43 ; xxviii. 10, cf. xi. 31) is 
meant, between the Euphrates and Chaboras, and by no means that of " Ur of the 
Chaldees" between the Euphrates and Tigris." P has " Paddan-aram " (xxv. 20; 
xxxi. 18, etc.) or Plain of Aram. Both the rivers and the plain are those of Syria 
(Aram) and not of Assyria, still less of Babylonia. 
10 



146 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

sliall say, Drink, and I >vill give thy camels drink 
also : let the same be she that thou hast appointed for 
thy servant Isaac ; and thereby shall I know that thou 

15 hast shewed kindness unto my master. And it came 
to pass, before he had done speaking, that, behold, 
'Rebekah came out, who was born to Bethuel the son 
of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham's brother, 

16 with her pitcher on her shoulder. And the damsel 
was 'very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any 
man '"known her : and she went down to the fountain, 

17 and filled her pitcher, and came up. And the ser- 
vant ran to meet her, and said, Give me to drink, I 

18 pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher. And she 
said. Drink, my lord : and she hasted, and let down 

19 her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And 
when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will 
draw for thy camels also, until they have done drink- 

20 ing. And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into 
the "trough, and ran again unto the well to draw, and 

21 drew for all his camels. And the man looked sted- 
fastly on her; holding his peace, to know whether 
Yahweh had made his journey "prosperous or not. 

22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, 
that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel 
weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels 

23 weight of gold ; and said. Whose daughter art thou? 
tell me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's 

24 house for us to lodge in ? And she said unto him, I 
am *the daughter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which 

25 she bare unto Nalior. She said moreover unto him, 
We have both straw and provender enough, and room 

26 to lodge in. And the man bowed his head, and wor- 

27 shipped Yahweh. And he said. Blessed be Yahweh, 
the God of my master Abraham, who hath not for- 
saken ''his mercy and his truth toward my master : 

'22 : 23 ; II :29. '12:11. '"4:1; 10:5,8. ''29:3; 30:38. i^Vv. 40, 42, 56 ; 39:2f, 23. 
i3v. 49 ; 32 : II ; 47 : 29 ; Ex. 34 : 6 ; Jos. 2 : 14. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 147 

as for me, Yahweli hath led me in the way to the 
house of my master's brethren. And the damsel ran, 28 
and told her mother's house according to these words. 
And Rehekah had a brother, and his name was Labau : 29 
— and Laban ran out unto the man, unto the foun- 
tain.— And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, 30 
and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he 
heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying. Thus 
spake the man unto me ;* that he came unto the man ; 
and, behold, he stood by the camels at the fountain. 
And he said. Come in, "thou blessed of Yahweh, 31 
wherefore standest thou without? for I haye pre- 
pared the house, and room for the camels. And the 32 
man came t into the house, and he ungirded the cam- 
els ; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, 
and water to wash his feet and the men's feet that 
were with him. And there was set meat before him 33 
to eat : but he said, I will not eat, until I have told 
mine errand. And he said, Speak on. And he said, 34 
I am Abraham's servant. And Yahweh hath blessed 35 
my master greatly ; and he is become great : and he 
hath given him '^flocks and herds, and silver and gold, 
and menservants and maidservants, and camels and 
asses. And Sarah my master's wife bare a son to my 36 
master when she was old: "and unto him hath he 
given all that he hath. '"And my master made me 37 
swear, saying. Thou shalt not take a wife for my son 
of the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I 
dwell ; but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and 3S 
to my kindred, and take a wife for my son. And I 39 
said unto my master, Peradventure the woman will 
not follow me. And he said unto me, Yahweh, before 4° 
whom I walk, will send his angel with th«e, and pros- 
per thy way ; and thou shalt take a wife for my son 

'^26 : 29. 1^12 : 16 ; 13:2; 30 : 43 ; 32 : 5. '^Cf. 25 : 5. I'Vv. 3-8. 

* The true position of 29^ would seem to be between 30 a and b. 

t Read with Vulg., " And he [Laban] brought," etc. 



148 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

41 of my kindred^ and of my father's house: then shalt 
thou be clear from my oath, when thou eomest to my 
kindred ;* and if tliey give her not to thee, thou shalt 

42 he clear from my oath. "And I came this day unto 
the fountain, and said, Yahweh, the God of my 
master Abraham, if now thou do prosper my way 

43 which I go : behold, I stand by the fountain of water ; 
and let it come to pass, that the maiden which com- 
eth forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I 

44 pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink ; and 
she shall say to me. Both drink thou, and I will also 
draw for thy camels : let the same be the woman 
whom Yahweh hath appointed for my master's son. 

45 And before I had done speaking in mine heart, be- 
hold, Rebekah came forth with her pitcher on her 
shoulder ; and she went down unto the fountain, and 
drew : and I said unto her. Let me drink, I pray thee. 

46 And she made haste, and let down her pitcher from 
her shoulder, and said, Drink, and she made the 

47 camels drink also: so I drank, and she made the cam- 
els drink also. And I asked her, and said. Whose 
daughter art thou? And she said. The daughter of 
Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare unto him ; 
and I put the ring upon her nose, and the bracelets 

48 upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and wor- 
shipped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the Ood of my 
master Abraham, which had led me in the right way 
to take me my master's brother's daughter for his 

49 son. And now if ye will ''deal kindly and truly with 
my master, tell me : and if not, tell me ; that I may 

50 "turn to the right hand, or to the left. Then Laban 
and Bethuel t answered and said, The thing proceedeth 

I'W. 12-14. ^"47:29. "*i3:9- 

* Kautzsch and Socin point out that some phrase equivalent to, " And they give 
thee a wife for Isaac," must be supplied here. 

t" And Bethuel " is perhaps interpolated here, as verses 28, 53 and 55 would lead 
us to suppose Laban alone to be the head of the house. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 149 

from Yaliweh : we cannot speak unto thee bad or good. 
Behold, Rehekah is before thee, take her, and go, and 51 
let her he thy master's son's wife, as Yahweli hath 
spoken. And it came to pass, that, when Abraham's 52 
servant heard their words, he bowed himself down to 
the earth unto Yahweh. And the servant brought 53 
forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and raiment, 
and gave them to Rebekah : he gave also to her bro- 
ther and to her mother precious things. And they 54 
did eat and drink, he and the men that were with him, 
and tarried all night ; and they rose up in the morn- 
ing, and he said, Send me away unto my master. And 55 
her brother and her mother said. Let the damsel abide 
with us [a few] days, at the least ten ; after that she 
shall go. And he said unto them, '"Hinder me not, 56 
seeing Yahweh hath prospered my way ; send me away 
that I may go to my master. And they said, We will 57 
call the damsel, and inquire at her mouth. And they 58 
called Rebekah, and said unto her. Wilt thou go with 
this man? And she said, I will go. And they sent 59 
away Rebekah their sister, and her "nurse, and Abra- 
ham's servant, and his men. And they blessed Re- 60 
bekah, and said unto her. Our sister, be thou [the 
mother] of thousands of ten thousands, and let thy 
seed possess the gate of those which hate them. And 61 
Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode upon 
the camels, and followed the man : [ . . . J and the 
servant took Rebekah, and went his way.* And Isaac 62 

s»32:4; 34:19- '"Ct. 35:8. 

*In vs. 61 something has almost certainly been omitted. To the eye of 
the Hebrew scholar vs. (>\a cannot tolerate (>\b after it, especially after vs. 59. 
Moreover, from the standpoint of the analysis, it is certain that J related 
somewhere in ch. xxiv. the death of Abraham. Verses if? form the death-bed 
scene (of. xlvii. 29), and after this chapter Abraham appears no more. Also the 
servant reports to Isaac as his master, and calls him so expressly in vs. 65. The 
notice of Abraham's death, however, would have to be stricken out when xxv. jff 
was incorporated. This notice Kautzsch and Socin think came after (>ia as follows : 
" And they came to Hebron and found Abram dead;" then 6i3, " and the servant 

took Rebekah and came to " Perhaps 6i3 should be completed by 

drawing to it the first word of vs. 62 (Isaac). We should have then, with the addition 



150 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

came from the way of "Beer-Iahai-roi ; for he dwelt 
6^ in the land of the South. And Isaac went out to med- 
itate in the field "at the eventide : and he lifted up 
his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there were camels 

64 coming. And Rehekah lifted up her eyes, and when 

65 she saw Isaac, she lighted oif the camel. And she 
said unto the servant, What man is this that walketh 
in the field to meet us ? And the servant said. It is 
my master : and she took "her veil, and covered her- 

66 self. And the servant told Isaac all the things that 

67 he had done. And Isaac brought her into kis ?not/ier 
Sarah's tcut, aud took Rcbckah, and she became his 
wife, and he loved her : and Isaac "was comforted 
after ms mother's dcath.* 

25 —And Abraham took another wife, and her name 

2 was Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and 'Jok- 
shan, and Medan, and Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. 

3 And Jokshan begat 'Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons 
of Dedan were Asshurim, and Letushim, and Leum- 

4 mim. And the sons of Midian ; Ephah, and Epher, 
and Hanoch, and Abida, and Eldaah. 'All these were 

5 the children of Keturah. 'And Abraham gave all 

6 (R) that he had unto Isaac. t — But unto the sons of the Hon- 

2225:11. 233.3. 2438:14,13. 253^.35.38:12. 'Ct. 10:26. 201.10:7,28. 89:19; 
10:29. ^24:36. ^Ct. 16:3; V.I. 

of a single letter after 6i3, "/o Isaac: and he went by the way of Beer-lahai-roi 
(LXX. " through the wilderness") ; for he (emphatic, i. e. Isaac) dwelt in the land of 
the South." The repetition of Isaac as subject both in 62 and 63 is thus avoided. (13) 

*The Hebrew form of the word "tent" (absolute, not construct) shows that it 
originally stood alone, and not in construction, as here, with a genitive. As the 
words, "his mother Sarah's," thus appear to be spurious, and the whole chapter 
suggests, as already mentioned, the death, not of Sarah, but of Abraham, Well- 
hausen attributes this gloss and the alteration of "father's" to "mother's" in 
vs. 67 to R, who wished to harmonize with P, and had chap, xxiii. in mind. 

t Xxv. 1-5 has been referred to as displaced from its original position. In fact, it 
is hardly less incongruous after the relation of Abram's death (see note preceding) 
than after the repeated allusions to his extreme old age and hopelessness of posterity 
which iill the preceding chapters, especiall}'' in P. Verse 5 in particular relates, 
as we have seen, an incident which Abram's servant relates as having already 
transpired in xxiv. 36. For this verse, with the fragment mJ, which perhaps goes 
with it, the most probable position would seem to be after xxiv. i. Verses 1-4 must 
of course have preceded xxiv. i, and they find in fact an appropriate context be- 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 151 

cubmeSy which Abraham had^ Abi-aham gave gifts ; and he sent them away from 
CP) Jsaac his son, white heyet lived, eastward, unto tJie east couiitry* ^ And 7 

these are the days of the years of Abrahain s life which he lived, 
a7i hundred threescore and fifteen years. And Abraham gave up 8 
the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full \of 
years] ; and 7vas gathered to his people. '' And Isaac and Ishmael 9 
his sons buried him in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Eph- 
ron the son of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre ; the 10 
field which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth : there 
was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came to pass 11 
after the death of Abrahain, that God blessed Isaac his son : 

(J) *aiid Isaac dwelt by Beer-Iahai-roi.f 

(P) "^Now these are the generations of Ishmael, Abraham's son, 12 
whom Hagar the Egyptian, Sarah's handtnaid, bare unto Abra- 
ham : ^^and these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their 13 
names, according to their generations : the firstborn of Ishmael, 
Ncbaioth ; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, and Mishma, 14 
and Dumah, and Massa j Hadad, and Temah, Jetur, Naphish, 15 
and Kedemah : these are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their 1 6 
names, by their villages, and by their encampments j twelve princes 
according to their nations. ^And these are the years of the life of I'j 
Ishmael, an hu7idred and thirty and seven years : and he gave up 
(J) the ghost and died J and tuas gathered unto his people. — And 18 

they dwelt from "Havilah unto Shur that is before 
Egypt, as thou goest toward Assyria; "he abode in the 
presence of all his brethren.^— 

°V. 17; 35:28f, etc. "49:31- ^24:62. '2:4, etc. '"36:10, 40; 46:8. "2:11, etc. 
12,6:12. 
tween xxii. 24 and xxiv. i. Dillmann would prefer to place vv. 1-4 before ch. xviii. 

* Dillmann gives reasons (Gen. =, p. 305) for attributing xxv. 6 to late redaction. 
According to both J and E, Hagar is more than a " concubine " and Keturah is even 
a "wife." Hagar's son, according to both, is already long since settled in the 
"east country." If spurious, the object of the verse is certainly to point out the 
inferiority of the Abrahamic 12 tribes just enumerated (Medan, vs. 2, is probably a 
mere explanatory gloss to Midian, for the two are interchangeable : cf . xxvii. 36) to 
Isaac's descendants. 

t The true position of ii^ is a difficult question. Perhaps it stands best after all 
where it is, i. e. directly after ch. xxiv. 

J Verse 18 is a veritable crux. It has certainly a relation to xvi. 12, and is sup- 
posed by Wellhausen to be taken from that connection. It applies of course to the 
people (Ishmael), of whom it is there predicted that " he shall dwell over against all 



153 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

19 (P) "^"^ And these are the generations of Isaac, Abraham's son ; 

20 Abraham begat Isaac : and Isaac ukis forty years old tuhen he 
took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the ^'^ Syrian of Paddan- 
aratn, the sister of Laban the ^^ Syrian, to be his wife. [ . . . ] 

21 (J) —And Isaac 'Untreated Yahweh for his wife, toe- 
cause she was ''barren : and Yahweh was intreated of 

22 him, and Rehekah his wife conceived. And the chil- 
dren struggled together within her ; and she said. If 
it be so, wherefore do I live? And she went to "in- 

23 quire of Yahweh. And Yahweh said unto her, 

Two nations are in thy womb. 

And two peoples shall be separated even from thy 

bowels : 
And the one people shall be stronger than the other 

people ; 
And the elder shall serve the younger. 

24 ''And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, be- 

25 hold, there were twins in her womb. And the first 
came forth "red,* all over like an hairy garment ; and 

26 they called his name Esau. And after that came forth 
his brother, and his hand '"had hold on Esau's heel : 
(P) and his name was called Jacob : and Isaac was three- 

27 (J) score years old when she bare them. And the boyS grew : 

"2:4, etc. i-iCf. 10:23. Ct. 22: 2off. '^Ex. 8:4, 5, 24-26; 9:28, etc. '^n .^^ . 2^:31. 
"26:23-25 iS3S;27ff. "V. 30. 2001.27:36. 

his brethren."— The phrase, "as thou goest toward Assyria," is meaningless and 
almost certainly corrupt; probably a mere dittograph. Cf. Well, iv., p. 22 note. 
This chapter seems in fact a critic's limbo for fragments left over by the compilers. 

* A play upon Edom, " red." Budde (Urg. p. 217 n. 2) conjectures some word like 
seir, " hirsute," which would really correspond with the succeeding clause, or else 
a word corresponding to the name Esau (" rough") given in the latter part of the 
verse. The objection is "that the superseding of an appropriate word by an inap- 
propriate one is not usual. The present word, edumni, on the contrary, if original, 
may be regarded as a trace of E's parallel account, which in the story of Jacob and 
Esau is almost identical, and seems to imply that in E the name Edom was given 
from the color of the skin at birth. Possibly the expression, " upright man," of vs. 
27, which gives the translators so much trouble, may also be derived from E ; J 
could scarcely think of attributing to Jacob a character of simple uprightness and 
integrity ; but how to reconcile this with E's story, the leading feature of which is 
still Jacob's duplicity, it is hard to see. J had perhaps only :" And Esau was . . . 
a man of the field, but Jacob was a dweller in tents." Cf. Gen. iv. 20. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 153 

and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field ; 
and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents. '"Now 28 
Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison : 
and Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage: 29 
and Esau came in from the field, and he was faint : 
and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with 30 
that same red [pottagej ; for I am faint : therefore 
was his name called Edoni. And Jacob said, "Sell me 31 
this day thy birthright. And Esau said. Behold, I am 32 
at the point to die : and what profit shall the birth- 
right do to me? And Jacob said. Swear to me this 33 
day ; and he sware unto him : and he sold his birth- 
right unto Jacob. And Jacob gave Esau bread and 34 
pottage of lentils ; and he did eat and drink, and rose 
up, and went his way: so Esau despised his birth- 
right.*— 

'And there was a famine in the land, 'beside the first 26 
famine that was in the days of Abraham. And IsaaC went 
unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Oerar. 
(JE) And Yahweli appeared unto him, and said, 'Go not 2 

down into Egypt ; dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of ; 

(J) sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and 3 

( JE) will bless thee ; for unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will 
give all these lands, and I will establish ''the oath which I sware unto 
Abraham thy father ; and I will multiply thy seed as the stars of 4 
heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands ; and in thy seed 
shall all the 'nations of the earth be blessed ; because that Abraham 5 
^obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my stat- 

( J) utes, and my laws.f And Isaac dwclt iu Crcrar : and 6, 7 

2127:5,7. 2227 : 36. Cf . 43 : 33 ; 48 : isff ; 49 : 3. 1Ct.ch.20f. ■^x'^-.ioZ. 'Ct. vv. i5, 3a. 
■'22 : !?£. Ct. 12 : 3. 5i8 : 19 ; Ex. 15 : 25f ; Dt. 11 : i. 

*Of course xxv. 2iff, with its story of Rebekah, long barren, then giving birth to 
twins who grow to maturity, cannot originally have preceded xxvi., in which she 
appears as the young and attractive wife of Isaac. The positions must be reversed ; 
xxv. 1 11^ should be followed by xxvi. 1-33, then xxv. 2iff. Thus the place of Isaac's 
"intreating of Yahweh " is made plain, viz., Beersheba. 

t Ch. xxvi. affords an instructive study of the supposed methods of the interpolator. 
The second clause of verse i is regarded as an explanation made necessary by the 
interpolation of Gen. xii. loff. At the same time the clause and the passage it refers 
to must precede in date the union of J and E, since otherwise it would be not Gen. 
xii. loff which required explanation, biit the much nearer and more closely parallel 



154 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

the men of the place asked him of his wife ; 'and he 
said. She is my sister: for he feared to say, My Avife; 
lest, [said he], the men of the place should kill me for 

8 Rebekah : because 'she was fair to look upon. And it 
came to pass, when he had been there a long time, 
that Abimelech king of the Philistines looked out at 
a window, and saw, and, behold, Isaac was 'sporting 

9 with Rebekah his wife. And Abimelech called Isaac, 
and said. Behold, of a surety she is thy wife : and how 
saidst thou. She is my sister? And Isaac said unto 

10 him. Because I said. Lest I die for her. And Abime- 
lech said. What is this thou hast done unto us? one 
of the people might lightly have lien with thy wife, 
and thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. 

11 And Abimelech charged all the people, saying. He 
that toucheth this man or his wife shall surely be 

12 put to death. And Isaac sowed in the land, and found 
in the same year an hundredfold : and Yahweh blessed 

13 him. 'And the man waxed great, and grew more and 

14 more until he became very great : and he had "posses- 
sions of flocks, and possessions of herds, and a great 

15 (JE) household : and the Philistines envied him. Now 

all the "wells which his father's servants had digged in the days of 
Abraham his father, the Philistines had stopped them, and filled 

16 (J) them with earth* And AMmclech Said unto Isaac, Go 

'12 : loff ; 20 : iff. '24 : 16. Ct. 25 : 2iff. *2i 19. °8 : 3, 5 ; 12 19 ; 24 135 ; 48 : 19. '"47 : ijf. 
"21 :25ff. 

incident, Gen. xx. Verses ib, 4, 5, and all but the first clause of 3 would show 
didactic interpolation of a very common kind, exhibiting the style of the Deutero- 
nomist, especially in vs. 5. 

* Harmonistic interpolation. On the composite authorship theory the editor had 
already incorporated the story of Abraham digging and naming these very wells 
(xxi. 22il (E)), or if he had omitted some, he preserved one at least (Beersheba). 
To permit the story of Isaac's digging and naming the same wells the only possible 
expedient was that some one should fill them with earth. The Philistines accordingly 
(who, however, according to xxi. 25 (E) and xxvi. 2of (J) are rnoi-e eager to appropriate 
the wells than to destroy them) are brought in by JE to do this service. The inter- 
polator betrays himself, however, in the (c ndeavor, in vs. 18, to meet the difF^culty of 
identity of names. True he states that Isaac " called their names after the names 
by which his father had called them ;" but this contradicts the verses immediately 
following, according to which Isaac gave them names suggested by the events oc- 
curring now in his own time. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 155 

from us; for thou art much mightier than we. And 17 
Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of 

(JE) Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac digged again 1-^the 18 
wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his 
father ; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abra- 
ham : '^and he called their names after the names by which his father 

(J) had called them* And Isaac's Servants digged in the 19 
valley, and found there a well of springing water. 
"And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herd- 20 
men, saying. The water is ours; and he called the 
name of the well Esek ; because they contended with 
him. And they digged another well, and they strove 21 
for that also: and he called the name of it Sitnah. 
And he removed from thence, and digged another 22 
well ; and for that they strove not : and he called the 
name of it Rehohoth ; and he said. For now Yahweh 
hath made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in 
the land. And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. 23 
"And Yahweh appeared unto him the same night, and 24 
said, I am the Ood of Abraham thy father : fear not, 
for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply 
thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake. "And he 25 
builded an altar there, and called upon the name of 
Yahweh, and pitched his tent there : and there Isaac's 
servants digged a well. "Then Abimelech went to 26 
him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath his friend, and Phicol 
the captain of his host. And Isaac said unto them, 27 
Wherefore are ye come unto me, seeing ye hate me, 
and have sent me away from you? And they said, 28 
"We saw plainly that Yahweh was with thee : and we 
said. Let there now be an oath betwixt us, even betwixt 
us and thee, and let us make a covenant with thee ; 
that thou wilt do us no hurt, as we have not touched 29 
thee, and as we have done unto thee nothing but good, 
and have sent thee away in peace : "thou art now the 

i22i:25flf. isCt. vv. 2off. "21:25. '^i2:iflf. 1812 : 7 ; 4 : 26, etc. I'Ct. 21:22. 1830:27. 
"24 : 31. 
* Harmonistic interpolation. See note preceding. 



15e THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

30 blessed of Yah well. And lie made them a feast, and 

31 they did eat and drink. And they rose up betimes in 
the morning, and sware one to another: and Isaac 
sent them away, and they departed from him in peace. 

32 And it came to pass the same day, that Isaac's ser- 
vants came, and told him concerning the well which 
they had digged, and said unto him. We have found 

33 (E) water.* — And he called it Shibah : therefore the 
name of the city is Beer-sheba unto this day.f — 

34 (P) "^"And whe?i Esau was forty years old he took to wife 
"'^Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, a7id '^^Base??iath the 

35 daughter of Eton the Hittite : and they were a grief of mind un- 
to Isaac and to Rebekah. 

27 (J) And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, 'and 
his eyes were dim, so that he could not see, J [ • • ] 
(E) he called Esau his elder son, and said unto him, °My 

2 son : and he said unto him. Here am I. And he said, Be- 

3 hold now, I am old, I know not the day of my death. Now 
(J) therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy qui- 
ver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me 

4(E) venison ; and make me savoury meat, such as I love, 
(J) and bring it to me, that I may eat ;[...] ^that my 

soCf. 27:46; 28:9. Ct. ch. 27. 2ict. 36:iff. i48:ioff. ^22 : i, 7, 11, etc. ^Vv. 19, 25, 31. 

* Insert here xxi. 31-33. 

t Insert after xxi. 30. 

t There is no analysis of ch. xxvii. which pretends to be more than tentative. 
J and E are here so nearly identical and so closely interwoven as to make an exact 
separation impossible. The most critics feel sure of is that both J and E related 
the same story of the usurpation of Jacob, for the story is referred to in Gen. xxxii. 
sff. by J, and xxxv. i by E, and that the two accounts are here combined, J's turning 
upon the deception of Isaac through the smell of the perfumed holiday garments 
Rebekah has put upon Jacob (cf. vs. 15 with 24-27), and E's upon his deception by the 
sense of touch, the goat's-hair covering of neck and hands suggesting to Isaac the 
hairy arms and neck of Esau. (Cf. verses 11-14, 16, with 21-23). A few other doublets 
(3oa=3o3, 44^=45^), some allusions to portions otherwise determined (293=xii. 3 ; 
Num. xxiv. 9 ; vs. 36=xxv. 29ff) and a few linguistic marks (Yahweh, verses 7, 20, 27 ; 
Elohim vs. 28 ; E's formula of address in verses i and 18 — cf. xxii. i, 7, n ; xxxi. 11, 
etc.—; " His eyes were dim," etc.— cf. xlviii. 10 ; Dt. xxxiv. 7, and in contrast I. Sam. 
iv. 15 ; I. Kings xiv. 4 ;— a Hebrew word characteristic of E inverses 13 and 30) are all 
the clews which have been suggested for guidance in the analysis of this difficult 
chapter. For details of the tentative analysis herewith presented the reader is 
referred to my article in Hebraica for Jan., 1891. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 157 

(E) soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah heard 5 
(J) when Isaac spake to Esau his son. [ . . . ] And Esau 
went to the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. 
And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, saying. Be- 6 
hold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy brother, 
(E) saying. Bring me Yenison, and 'make me savoury 7 
(J) meat, that I may eat, and bless thee — before Yahweh 
(E) [ . . . ] — ■ before my death. Now therefore, my son, 8 
^obey my voice according to that which I command thee. 
Go now to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good 9 
kids of the goats ; and I will make them savoury meat for 
thy father, such as he loveth : and thou shalt bring it to 10 
thy father, that he may eat, so that he may bless thee be- 
fore his death. And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, 11 
Behold, ®Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth 
man. My father peradventure will 'feel me, and I shall 12 
seem to him as a deceiver ; and I shall bring a curse upon 
me, and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, 13 
Upon me be thy curse, my son ; only obey my voice, and 
go fetch me them. And he went, and fetched, and brought 14 
them to his mother : and his mother made savoury meat, 
(J) such as his father loved. And Rebekah took the 15 
goodly raiment* of Esau her elder son, which were 
with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her 
(E) younger son [ . . . J : and she put the skins of the 16 
kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon the smooth of 
his neck : and she gave the savoury meat and the bread, 1 7 
which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 
And he came unto his father, and said, 'My father : and he 18 
(J) said. Here am I ; [ . . . J who art thou, my son? 
And Jacob said unto his father, I am Esau thy first- 19 
born ; I have done according as thou badest me : arise, 
I pray thee, sit and eat of my venison, that thy soul 
may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son. How is it 20 

^W. 4, 10, 14, 17, 31. 5vv. 13, 43. ^25:25. 'V. 2if ; 31 :34, 37; Ex. 10:21. 822:1^7^11^ 
etc. V. 2. 

* Perfu7ned festal garments. W. R. Smith Religio7i of the Seinites, p. 433. Cf. vs. 
27. Jud. xiv. i2f. 



158 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

that thou hast found it so quickly, my son? And he 
said, Because Yahweh thy God "sent me good speed. 

21 (E) And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, 
that I may "feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very 

2 2 son Esau or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his fa- 
ther ; and he felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, 

23 but the hands are the hands of Esau. And he discerned 
him not, because his hands were hairy, as his brother 

24 (J) Esau's hands : "so he blessed him. And he said. Art 

25 thou my a ery sou Esau ? And he said, I am. And he 
said, Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son's 
yenison, that my soul may bless thee. And he brought 
it near to him, and he did eat : and he brought him 

26 wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac said unto 

27 him. Come near now, and kiss me, my son. And he 
came near, and kissed him : and he smelled the smell 
of "his raiment, and blessed him, and said. 

See the smell of my son 

Is as the smell of a held which Yahweh hath 
blessed : 

28 (E) And God give thee of "the dew of heaven 

And of the fatness of the earth. 
And plenty of corn and wine : 

29 (J) Let peoples serve thee. 

And nations bow down to thee : 
(E) "Be lord over thy brethren. 

And let thy mother's sons bow down to thee : 
(J) '"Cursed be every one that curseth thee. 

And blessed be every one that blesseth thee. 

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end 
(E) of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out 
(J) from the presence of Isaac his father, [ . . . J that 

31 (E) Esau his brother came in from his hunting. And 
he also made savoury meat, and brought it unto his father ; 
(J) and he said unto his father, ''Let my father arise, 

924:12. '"v. 12, etc. "Ct. vv. 24-27. i^v. 15. "y_ 29. >^V. 37. 1612:3 ; Num. 24:9. 
J«V. i8f. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 159 

and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless me. 
And Isaac his father said unto him. Who art thou? 32 
And he said, 1 am thy son, thy firstborn, Esau. And zt, 
Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said. Who then 
is he that hath taken venison and brought it me, and 
I have eaten of all before thou camest, and have 
(E) blessed him ? yea, [and] he shall be blessed. When 34 
Esau heard the words of his father, he cried with an exceed- 
ing great and bitter cry, and said unto his father, Bless me, 
even me also, O my father. And he said. Thy brother came 35 
(J) with guile, and hath taken away thy blessing. And he 36 
said. Is not he rightly named Jacob % for he hath sup- 
planted me these two times : he took away my birth- 
right ; and, behold, now he hath taken away my bless- 
(E) ing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a blessing 
for me ? And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, 37 
'^I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I 
given to him for servants ; and with corn and wine have I 
sustained him : and what then shall I do for thee, my son ? 
And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, 38 
my fathQT? '^bless me, even me also, O my father. And 
Esau lifted up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father 39 
answered and said unto him. 

Behold, of the fatness of the earth shall be thy dwelling, 

And of the dew of heaven from above ; 

And by thy sword shalt thou live, and thou shalt serve 40 
thy brother ; 

And it shall come to pass when thou shalt break loose. 

That thou shalt shake his yoke from off thy neck. 
(J) And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing 41 
(E) wherewith his father blessed him :[...] and Esau 
said in his heart, The days of mourning for my father are 
at hand ; then will I slay m)^ brother Jacob. And the 42 
words of Esau her elder son were told to Rebekah ; and 
she sent and called Jacob her younger son, and said unto 
him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as touching thee, doth com- 

"V. 29. 18v. 34. 



160 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

43 fort himself, [purposing] to kill thee. Now therefore, my 
son, obey my voice ; and arise, "flee thou to Laban my 

44 brother to Haran ; and tarry with him '"a few days, until 

45 (J) thy brother's fury turn away ; until thy brother's 
anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which 
(E) thou hast done to him : then I will send, and fetch 
thee from thence : why should I be "bereaved of you both 
in one day ?* 

46 (R) And Rebekah said to Isaac, I am weary of tny life because of the datigh- 
ters of Heth : if Jacob take a wife of the daughters of Heth, such as these, of the 

28 (P) daughters of the land, ^'^what good shall my life do me?\ And Isaac 

called Jacob^ and '^blessed him, and charged him, and said unto 
him, Thou shall not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. 

2 Arise, go to Faddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother'' s 
father ; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of 

3 Laba?i thy mother s brother. And "^ God Almighty bless thee, and 
make thee fruitful, and tnultiply thee, t/iat thou mayest be a com- 

4 pany of peoples ; afid give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, 
and to thy seed with thee j that thou mayest inherit the land of thy 

5 sojournings, which God gave unto Abrahajn. And Isaac sent 
away Jacob, and he went to Faddan-aram imto laban, son of 
Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Rebekah, Jacob's and Esau's 

6 mother. Now Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent 
him away to Faddan-aram, to take him a wife from thence ; and 
that as he blessed him he gave him a charge, saying. Thou shall 

7 not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan j and that Jacob 
obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Faddan-aram : 

8 and Esau saw that ^the daughters of Canaan pleased not Isaac 

9 his father j and Esau went unto Ishmael, and took tmto the wives 

1^35:1. 202g:2o. -142:36; 43:14. ==25:22. '27:23-45. =Ex. 6:3. 326:34f. 

*The notice of Isaac's death, which on the Documentary Theory followed the 
death-bed scene of this chapter (cf. vs. \ib), would of course have to be omitted, as 
in the case of Abraham, for harmonistic reasons. (See Gen. xxxv. 29.) In verses 
41-45 it is impossible to decide as between J and E, and the more unnecessary as the 
meaning is identical. The division adopted is merely provisional. Cf., however, 
vs. 43a with vv. 8 and 13 and Ex. xviii. 19. 

t Assigned to R for linguistic reasons mainly. Cf. xxv. 22. (See Dillmann, Gen. 5, 
in loc.) The matter is, perhaps, superfluous, but introduced apparently to resume 
connection with xxvi. 34f. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 161 

•which he had, ""Mahalath the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's 
son, the sister of Nebaioth, to be his wife. [ . . . J 

(J) And Jacob went out from 'Beer-slieba, and went lo 
(E) toward* Haran. And he lighted upon a certain ii 
place,! 3-^^ tarried there all night, because the sun was 
set ; and he took one of the stones of the place, and put it 
under his head, and lay down in that place to sleep. And 1 2 
he ^dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and 
the top of it reached to heaven : and behold the angels of 
(J) God ascending and descending on it. — And, behold, 13 
Yahweh stood 'above it, and said, 'I am Yaliweli, the 
Grod of Abraham thy father, and the Ood of Isaac : 
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and 
to thy seed ; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the 14 
earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and 
to the east, and to the north, and to the south : "and 
in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the 

(JE) earth be blessed. "And, behold, I am with thee, and 15 
will keep thee whithersoever thou goest, and will bring thee again into 
this land ; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I 

(J) have spoken to thee of. And Jacob awaked out of his 16 
sleep, and he said, '"Surely Yahweh is in this place; 
(E) and I knew it not.| — And he was afraid, and said, 17 

^25:25. '26:23. *2o :3, etc. ; 35 : 1. '18 : 2 ; 24 :i3. ^26:24 ; 12 : 7 ; 13 : isf. ^30:30,43; 
Ex. 1:12. '"12:3. "Cf. V. 20. I'Ex. 2:14. 

*Or, "came unto." 

tSee note to Gen.xii. 6. If , as historical criticism maintains, the narratives of 
Genesis are the local traditions of the various shrines of Beer-sheba, Shechem, 
etc., " the place " (Heb. vs. n) would of course refer to the well-known sanctuary of 
Bethel (cf. Amos vii. i2f.), with its immemorial stone pillar, black with the anoint- 
ing oil of countless pilgrims, and its sacred tree (Gen. xxxv. 8 ; cf . i Sam. x. 3 ; Amos 
iv. 4 ; V. 5.). 

X In vs. 13 read " beside him " according to the (R. V.) margin.— It would be easy 
with Kuenen and some other critics to consider vv. 13-16 and 19 as simple interpola- 
tions of JE like xiii. 14-17; xxii. 15-18 and others, but the language of vs. 14 is strongly 
characteristic of J (cf. xii. 3 ; xxs. 30), and quite in contrast with JE (xxii. i8 and xxvi. 
4). There is also a characteristic primitiveness of thought invs. 16 which it is diffi- 
cult to attribute to an interpolator. Vs. 15, however, is obviously related to vs. 2of., 
and must therefore on this theory be attributed to JE. This analysis by no means 
ignores the important arguments of Kuenen, Hex. pp. 147 and 243. The evidence 
from Hos. xii. 4, and we may add, from P even, in xxxv. 15, points to a derivation, 
of the ''pillar" (not the altar, cf. Gen. xii. 8) in Bethel from the occasion of a the- 
ophany to Jacob after his return from Aram Naharaim, as J's version. If this view 
II 



163 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

How dreadful is this place ! this is none other but the house 

i8 o£ God, and this is the gate of heaven. And Jacob rose up 

early in the morning, "and took the stone that he had put 

under his head, and "set it up for a pillar, and poured oil 

19 (J) upoii the top of it. —"And he called the name of 

that place Beth-el : but the name of the city was Luz at the first.*— 

20 (E) "And Jacob vowed a vow, saying. If God will be with 
nie, and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give 

21 me bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come 
again to my father's house "in peace, then shall Yahweh be 

22 my God, and this stone, which I have set up for a pillar, 
shall be God's house : and of all that thou shalt give me I 
will surely give the tenth unto thee. 

29 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to 'the land 

2 (J) of the children of the east. [ . . . ] 'And he looked, 
and behold a well in the field, and, lo, three flocks of 
sheep lying there by it; for out of that well they 
watered the flocks : and 'the stone upon the well's 

3 mouth was great. And thither were all the flocks 
gathered : and 'they rolled the stone from the welPs 
mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone 

4 again upon the well's mouth in its place. And Jacob 
said unto them, 'My brethren, whence be ye? And 

5 they said. Of Haran are we. And he said unto them. 
Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, 

6 We know him. And he said unto them, 'Is it well 
with him ? And they said. It is well : and, behold, 

7 Eachel his daughter cometh with the sheep. And he 
said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither is it time that the 
cattle should be gathered together: water ye the 

8 sheep, and go and feed them. And they said, 'We 
cannot, until all the flocks be gathered together, and 

i33S:i4f. 143, : 45. 33:20; 35:20, etc. »6Ct. 35:6f. 1^31:13. "33:i8(>) iQt. 28:7, 10. 
"Cf. 24:iiff ; Ex. 2:i6ff. ^y. 10. ^\!)•.^. ^43:27. 

be adopted, vv. 13, 14, 16 and 19 (cf. xxxv. 7 E) must be considered displaced by JE 
from the context of xxxv. 14. See the author's article in Hebraica, July, 1891, en- 
titled. Notes on the analysis of Genesis xxxii.-l. 
* See note preceding, and cf. xxxv. 7. Insert after xxxv. 14. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 163 

*tliey roll the stone from the well's mouth ; then we 
water the sheep. While he yet spake with them, 9 
Rachel came with her father's sheep ; for 'she kept 
them. And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel 10 
the daughter of Laban his mother's brother, and the 
sheep of Laban his mother's brother, that Jacob went 
near, and 'rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and 
watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. 
And Jacob kissed Rachel, and 'lifted up his voice, and 1 1 
wept. And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's 1 2 
brother, and that he was Rebekah's son : and she ran 
and told her father. And it came to pass, when La- 13 
ban heard the tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that 
"he ran to meet him, and embraced him, and kissed 
him, and brought him to his house. And he told 
Laban all these things. And Laban said to him, 14 
(E) Surely thou art "my bone and my flesh. [ . . . J And 
he abode with him the space of a month. And Laban said 15 
unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother, shouldest thou 
therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what shall thy 
"wages be ? And Laban had two daughters : the name of 16 
the elder was Leah, and the name of the "younger was 
Rachel. And Leah's eyes were tender; but Rachel was 17 
"beautiful and well favoured. And Jacob loved Rachel ; 18 
and he said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy 
younger daughter. And Laban said. It is better that I 19 
give her to thee, than that I should give her to another 
man : abide with me. And Jacob served seven years for 20 
Rachel ; and they seemed unto him but '^a few days, for 
the love he had to her. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give 21 
me my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in 
unto her. And Laban gathered together all the men of 22 
the place, and made a feast. And it came to pass in the 23 
evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her 
(P) to him ; and he went in unto her. And Laba7i gave 24 

«V. 10. 'Ex. 2:16. 822:25. 845 : 14 ; 46 : 29. '"33:4; 18:2; 24:17. "2:23; 37:27- 
"31:7, 41. Ct. 30:28, 32f; 31:8. "Ct. 19:31; V. 26£. i<Ct. ia:ii;24:i6;26:7. "27:44. 



164 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Zilpah his handmaid unto his daughter Leah for an handmaid. 

25 (E) [ . . . ] And it came to pass in the morning that, be- 
hold, it was Leah : and he said to Laban, What is this thou 
hast done unto me ? did not I serve with thee for Rachel ? 

26 (J) wherefore then hast thou beguiled me ?[...] And 
Laban said, '*It is not so done in onr place, to give 

27 (E) the "younger before the firstborn. Fulfil the week* 
of this one, and we will give thee the other also for the 
service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other 

28 years. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week, and he 

29 (P) gave him Rachel his daughter to wife. And Laban 
gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her hand- 

30 (E) jnaid. [ . . . ] And he went in also unto Rachel, and 
he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him 
yet seven other years. [ . . . J 

31 (J) And Yahweh saw that Leah was hated, "and he 

32 opened her womb : "but Rachel was barren. '"And 
Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his 
name Reuben; for she said. Because Yahweh hath 
looked upon my affliction ; for now my husband will 

33 love me. '"And she conceived again, and bare a son ; 
and said. Because Yahweh hath heard that I am 
hated, he hath therefore given me this [son] also : 

34 and she called his name Simeon. '"And she conceived 
again, and bare a son ; and said. Now this time will 
my husband be joined unto me, because I have borne 
him three sons : "therefore was his name calledf Levi. 

35 '"And she conceived again, and bare a son ; and she 
said. This time will I praise Yahweh : "therefore she 
called his name Judah ; and she left bearing. [ . . ] 

30 (E) And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no chil- 
dren, Rachel envied her sister ; and she said unto Jacob, 
2 Give me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was 
kindled against Rachel : and he said, 'Am I in God's 

1*34:7. i"Ct. V. 16. 1*30:22. i^ii :3o; 25 :2i. ^"4 : i, 17, etc. 212:24, etc. '50:19. 

* I. e. the week of wedding festivities. 

* Read with LXX. Sam. Syr., " she called." Cf. verses 32, 33, 35. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 165 

Stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb ? 
And she said, Behold my "maid Bilhah, go in unto her ; 3 
(J) that she may 'bear upon my knees : and I also may 
'obtain children by her. And she gave him Bilhah her 4 
handmaid to wife : and Jacob went in unto her. [ . . . ] 
(E) And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. And 5-6 
Rachel said, God hath judged me, and hath also heard my 
voice, and hath given me a son : therefore called she his 
(J) (E) name Dan. And Bilhah Rachel's handmaid con- 7 
(J) ceived again, and bare Jacob a second son. [ . . . ] 
(E) And Rachel said, With mighty wrestlings have I 8 
wrestled with my sister, and have prevailed : and she 
(J) called his name Naphtali. [ . . . ] When Leah saw 9 
that she had left bearing, she took Zilpah her hand- 
maid, and gave her to Jacob to wife. And Zilpah 10 
Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a son. And Leah said, n 
Fortunate ! and she called his name Gad. And Zilpah 12 
Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a second son. And Leah 13 
said, Happy am I! for the daughters will call me 
happy : and she called his name Asher. And Reuben 14 
went in the days of wheat harvest, and found man- 
drakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother 
Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray 
thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she said unto her, 15 
Is it a small matter that thou hast taken away my 
husband ? and wouldest thou take away my son's man- 
drakes also? And Rachel said. Therefore 'he shall lie 
with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. And 16 
Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah 
went out to meet him, and said. Thou must come in 
unto me; for I have surely 'hired thee with my son's 
mandrakes. And he lay with her that night. [ . . . ] 
(E) And God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, 17 
and bare Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given 18 
me my hire, because I gave my handmaid to my husband : 

220:17; 21 :io, i2f. Ct. 16:2, 5, etc., and vv. 4, gff. ^50:23- ''16:2. ^ct. v. 17. «Ct. 



166 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

19 and she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived 

20 again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, God 
(J) hath endowed me with a good dowry ;*[...] HOW 
will my husband dwell with me, because I have borne 

21 him six sons ; and she called his name Zebulun. And 
afterwards she bare a daughter, and called her name 

22(E) Dinah. [ ] t And God remembered Rachel, 'and 

23 (J) God hearkened to her, and 'opened her womb. And 
(E) she conceived, and bare a son : and said, God hath 

24 taken away J my reproach : and she called his name Joseph, 
(J) [ ... J saying, Yahweh add to me "another son. 

25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, 
that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I 
may go unto "mine own place, and to my country. 

26 (E) Give me my wives and my children, || for whom I have 
served thee, and let me go : for thoii knowest my service 

27 (J) wherewith I have served thee. And Laban said unto 
him, "If now I have found favour in thine eyes, 
[tarry : for] I have ''divined that Yahweh hath blessed 

28 (E) me for thy sake. And he said, Appoint me thy wages, 

29 (J) and I will give it. [ . . . ] And he said unto him. 
Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy 

30 cattle hath fared Avith me. For it was little which 
thou hadst before I came, and it hath "increased un- 
to a multitude ; and Yahweh hath blessed thee whith- 
ersoever I turned : and now when shall I provide for 

31 mine own house also ? And he said. What shall I give 
thee ? And Jacob said. Thou shalt not give me aught : 
if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed 

'V. 17. 829:31. '35:18. 1029:26. "18:3, etc. 12^4 :i5_ 1828:14, etc. 

* Heb. Zebed. Verse 20 contains two etymologies for Zebulun. According to the 
analysis, R seems to have generally selected the more felicitous of the two, but 
sometimes to afford both (cf. 23f), and is not averse to presenting still a third in 
many cases (cf. ch. xlix.). 

t Perhaps vs. 21. is R's. 

X Heb. Asaph. Verse ii,b (J) derives the name from yasapl:, " add to." 

["Whom" is feminine, hence the "children" are liere interpohited. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 167 

(E) thy flock [ . . . ] and keep it.* I will pass through 32 
all thy flock to-day, "removing from thence every speckled 
and spotted one, and every black one among the sheep, 
and the spotted and speckled among the goats : and [of 
such] shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness an- 33 
swer for me hereafter, when thou shalt come concerning 
my hire that is before thee : every one that is not speckled 
and spotted among the goats, and black among the sheep, 
that [if found] with me shall be counted stolen. f [ . . . ] 
(J) And Laban said^ Behold, I would it might he ac- 34 
cording to thy word. And he removed that day the 35 
he-goats that were "ringstraked and spotted, and all 
the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every 
one that had white in it, and all the black ones among 
the sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons : 
and he set three days' journey betwixt himself and 36 
Jacob : and Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. And 
Jacob took him rods of fresh poplar, and of the al- 
mond and of the plane tree ; and peeled Avhite strakes 
in them, and made the white appear which was in the 
rods. And he set the rods which he had peeled over 38 
(E) against the flocks 'In the gutters in the watering 
troughs where the flocks came to drink ; and they con- 
(J) ceived when they came to drink. [ . . . ] And the 39 
flocks conceived before the rods, and the flocks 

"31:8. i=Ct. 31:8-10. "Ex. 2:16. 

* The Hebrew has, " feed thy flock, keep it," with no conjunction. Kautzsch and 
Socin regard the second word as simply a parallel furnished by the other source 
(E) to the first. According to these authors, " R took it up in order to lose no shade 
of meaning." 

tThe latter part of ch. xxx. presents confessedly an incompletely solved problem 
of analysis. For this reason the author departs from the view of critics presented 
in the tables of Hebraica iv. 4 (July, 1888), and submits an original analysis, for the 
evidence in support of which the reader is referred to the above-quoted article in 
Hebraica for July, 1891. The basis of analysis must of course be in any event the 
story of E as retold by Jacob in xxxi. 5-12 and again in verses 3S-42. The main 
point of difference between the narrative here presupposed and the form of the story 
afforded by ch. xxx. is, as all critics recognize, that Jacob does not outwit Laban by 
his own cunning, but quietly submits to repeated over-reaching from Laban, who 
continually " changes his wages." His deliverance is due solely to divine interven- 
tion on behalf of an ish tain or •' man of simple integrity " (xxv. 27). Cf. xxxi. 7. 



168 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

brought forth ''ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. 

40 (E) And Jacoh separated the lambs, and set the faces of 
the flocks toward the "ringstraked and all the black in the 
(J) flock of Laban ;[...] and he put his own droTes 

41 apart, and put them not unto Laban's flock. And it 
came to pass, whensoever the stronger of the flock 
did conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes 
of the flock '"in the gutters, that they might conceive 

42 among the rods ; but when the flock were feeble, he 
put them not in : so the feebler were Laban's, and the 

43 stronger Jacob's. And the man '"increased exceed- 
ingly, and 'had large flocks, and maidservants and 
menservants, and camels and asses. 

31 And * he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, 
Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's ; and 
of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this 

2 (E) glory. 'And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, 

3 (J) and, behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. 'And 
Tahweli said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, 

4 (E) and to thy kindred ; and I will he with thee. And Jacob 
sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his flock, 

5 and said unto them, I see your father's countenance, that it 
is not toward me as beforetime ; but the God of my father 

6 hath been with me. ^And ye know that with all my power 

7 I have served your father. And your father hath deceived 
me, and ^changed my wages ten times ; but God ^suffered 

8 him not to hurt me. If he said thus, The speckled shall 
be thy wages ; then all the flock bare speckled : and if he 
said thus, The ringstraked shall be thy wages : then bare 

I'Ct. 31 : 8-10. 1*31:8. "Ex. 2:16. 2028:14; 30:30, etc. -132:4. ^v. 5. ^32: 9. 330:26. 
4Ct. 30 : 35ff. Cf. Num. 14 : 22. ^20 : 6. 

* For the present independent analysis of ch. xxxi. see Hebraica for July, 1891, and 
for the general form of previous analyses chapter III. Wellhausen I., p. 42S, rejects 
verses 10 and 12 on the ground that " I am the God of Bethel " can only come first 
in the theophany, and that the verses 10 and 12 introduce a subject matter foreign 
to that of vs. 13, one vsrhich could not have been presented at the same time, but 
necessarily, according to the story, months, if not years, previously. Verse 3 is re- 
garded as an interpolation supplying a higher motive for Jacob's flight than that of 
vs. I. It must, however, be as early as xxxii. 10, which itself, however, is subsequent 
to the union of J and E. See note in loc. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 169 

all the flock ringstraked. ^Thus God hath taken away 9 
(JE) the cattle of your father, and given them to me. And 10 
it came to pass at the time that the flock conceived, that I lifted up 
mine eyes, and saw in a dream, and, behold, the he-goats which 
leaped upon the flock were ringstraked, speckled, and grisled. 
(E) ''And the angel of God said unto me in the dream, 11 
(JE) ^'Jacob : and I said, Here am I. And he said. Lift up 12 
now thine eyes, and see, all the he-goats which leap upon the flock 
are ringstraked, speckled, and grisled : for I have seen all that Laban 
(E) doeth unto thee. I am the God of Beth-el, where thou 13 
anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a vow unto me : 
now arise, get thee out from this land, and return unto the 
land of thy nativity. And Rachel and Leah answered and 14 
said unto him, Is there yet any portion or inheritance for 
us in our father's house ? Are we not counted of him stran- 15 
gers ? for he hath sold us, and hath also quite devoured 
'our money. For all the riches which God hath taken 16 
away from our father, that is ours and our children's : now 
then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do. Then Ja- 17 
cob rose up, and set his sons and his wives upon the camels ; 
(P) and he carried away all his cattle, ^^ and all his substance 18 
which he had gathered, the cattle of his getting, which he had 
gathered in Paddan-aram, for to go to Isaac his father unto the 
(E) land of Canaan. Now Laban was gone to shear his 19 
sheep: and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her father's. 
And Jacob "stole away unawares to Laban the Syrian, in 20 
that he told him not that he fled. So he fled with all that 21 
(J) he had ; and he rose up, and passed over the river, 
(E) and set his face toward the mountain of Gilead. 

And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob was 22 
fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pursued 23 
after him seven days' journey ; '^and he overtook him in 
the mountain of Gilead. And God came to Laban the 24 
Syrian "in a dream of the night, and said unto him. Take 
heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either good 
(J) or bad. And Laban came up with Jacoh. Now Ja- 25 

'Ct. 30-42. '20:3, etc. 822:1, etc. ^29:18, 27; Ex. 21:35. '"12:5; 36:6. "v. 26. 
Ct. V. 27. '2v. 2sa. "15: 1 ; 20:3, etc. 



170 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

cob had pitched his teut in the mountain : [ . . . ] and 
Lahan with his brethren pitched in the mountain of 

26 (E) Crilead. [ . . . ] And Laban said to Jacob, What hast 
thou done, that thou hast "stolen away unawares to me, 
and carried away my daughters as captives of the sword ? 

27 (J) Wherefore didst thou flee secretly, and ''steal 
away from me; and didst not tell me, that I might 
have sent thee away with mirth and with songs, with 

28 (E) tabret and with harp ; and hast not suffered me to 
kiss my sons and my daughters ? now hast thou done fool- 

29 ishly. It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt : but 
the God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying. 
Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either 

30 good or bad. And now, [though] thou wouldest needs be 
gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, 

31 (J) [yet] wherefore hast thou stolen my gods ? And Jacob 
answered and said to Laban, Because I was afraid : for 
I said. Lest thou shouldest take thy daughters from 

32 (E) me by force. [.••]* With whomsoever thou find- 
est thy gods, he shall not live : before our brethren discern 
thou what is thine with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob 

33 knew not that Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went 
into Jacob's tent, and into Leah's tent, and into the tent of the 
two maidservants ; but he found them not. And he went out 

34 of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's tent. Now Rachel 
had taken the teraphim, and put them in the camel's furni- 
ture, and sat upon them. And Laban "felt about all the 

35 tent, but found them not. And she said to her father, Let 
not my lord be angry that I cannot rise up before thee ; for 
''the manner of women is upon me. And he searched, but 

36 (J) found not the teraphim. And Jacob was wroth, and 
(E) chode with Laban: [ . . . ] and Jacob answered 
and said to Laban, What is my trespass ? what is ray sin, 

37 that thou has hotly pursued after me ? Whereas thou hast 
felt about all my stuff, what hast thou found of all thy 

'<v. 26. Ct. V. 27. i^Ct. V. 20. '627:12, 2if. "Ct.iS:i!. 
*Tbe missing words, " And he said," are found in LXX. 



I 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 171 

household stuflf ? Set it here before my brethren and thy 
(J) brethren, that they may judge betwixt us two. This 38 
twenty years have I heeii with thee ; thy ewes and thy 
she-goats have not '*cast their young, and the rams of 
thy flocks have I not eaten. That which was torn of 39 
beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it ; 
of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by 
day or stolen by night. Thus I was ; in the day the 40 
drought consumed me, and the frost by night ; and 
(E) my sleep fled from mine eyes.* These twenty years 41 
have I been in thy house ; "I served thee fourteen years 
for thy two daughters, and six years for thy flock : and 
^'thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God 42 
of my father, the God of Abraham, and the Fear of Isaac, 
had been with me, surely now hadst thou sent me away 
empty. God hath seen mine affliction and the labour of 
(J) my hands, and rebuked thee yesternight. And Lab an 43 
answered and said unto Jacob, "The daughters are 
my daughters, and the children are my children, and 
the flocks are my flocks, and all that thou seest is 
mine: and what can I do this day unto these my 
daughters, or unto their children which they have 
borne? And now come, let us make a covenant, I and 44 
thou ; [ . . ] and let it be for a "witness between me 
(E) and thee. And Jacob "took a stone, and set it up 45 
(J) for a pillar. And Jacob Said unto his brethren, 46 
Gather stones; and they took stones, and made an 
(E) heap : "and they did eat there by the heap. — "And 47 
Laban called it Jegar-sahadutha : but Jacob called it 
(J) Galeed. — And Laban said. This heap is witness 48 
between me and thee this day. —Therefore was the 49 
name of it called Oaleed : and [ . . ] Mizpah,t for he 

isEx. 23:26. Ct. 27:45; 42:36; 43:14. "29:18,27. 20VV. 7-9. ='V. 31. 22V. 48f. 

2328 : 18, etc. 24V. 54. 25vv. 5, 4Sf. 

* Vv. 36(7, 38-40 may equally well be assigned to E. 

+ LXX. have Massepha, midway between maggebah, " pillar " (i. e. the stone dolmen 
so frequent in E and forming part of the earlier worship (Is. xix. 19), but forbidden 
after the period of Josiah), and mizpah, " watch-tower." This curious phenomenon 
suggests the possibility of an original play upon the words maggebah and mizpah. 



172 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

said, Yahweli watch between me and thee, when we are 

50 absent one from another. — If thou shalt afflict my 
daughters, and if thou shalt take wives besides my 
daughters, no man is with us ; see "God is witness be- 

51 (E) twixt me and thee. And Laban said to Jacob, Be- 
hold this heap, and behold the pillar, which "I have set betwixt 

52 me and thee. This heap be witness, and the pillar be witness, 
that I will not pass over this heap to thee, and that thou 
shalt not pass over this heap and this pillar unto me, for harm. 

53 *^The God of Abraham, and the God of Nahor, the God of 
their father, judge betwixt us. And Jacob sware by the 

54 Fear of his father Isaac. ^°And Jacob offered a sacrifice 
in the mountain, and called his brethren to eat bread : and 
they did eat bread, and tarried all night in the mountain. 

5 5 ^^ And early in the morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons 

and his daughters, and blessed them : and Laban depart- 

32 ed, and returned unto his place. And Jacob went on his 

2 way, and the angels of God met him. 'And Jacob said 
when he saw them, This is God's host : and he called the 
name of that place Mahanaim. 

3 (J) And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau 
his brother unto the land of Seir ; — the field of Edom. — 

4 And he commanded them, saying. Thus shall ye say 
unto my lord Esau ; Thus saith thy servant Jacob, I 

5 have sojourned with Laban, and stayed until now : and 
'I have oxen, and asses [andj flocks, and menservants 
and maidservants : and I have sent to tell my lord, 

6 'that I may find grace in thy sight. And the messen- 
gers returned to Jacob, saying. We came to thy 
brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, 

7 and 'four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was 
greatly afraid and was distressed : and he divided the 
people that was with him, and the flocks, and the 

8 herds, and the camels, into 'two companies ; * and he 

26Ct. V. 44. 2'Ct. V. 46. 28vv. 42, 37. 2»E.x. 18:12. so^oiS; 21:14; 22:3; 28:18. 
ivv. 7, 10. 2i2: 16; 30:43. 3i8;3, etc. ''33 = i- ^Ct. v. if. 

* Heb. Mahanaim. The word is strictl}^ the dual of mahaneh, " camp " or " com- 
pany." The etymology of verses i and 2 (E) regards it simply as a plural, or 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 173 

said. If Esau come to the one company, and smite it, 
then the company which is left shall escape. [ ] 

(JE) And Jacob said, O God of my father Abraham, and God of my 9 
father Isaac, O Yahweh, which "saidst unto me, Return unto thy 
country, and to thy kindred, and I will do thee good : I am not 10 
worthy of the least of all 'the mercies, and of all the truth, which 
thou hast shewed unto thy servant ; for with my staff I passed over 
this 8 Jordan ; and now I am become "two companies. Deliver me, I 11 
pray thee, from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau ; 
for I fear him, lest he come and smite me, the mother with the child- 
ren. And thou '"saidst, I will surely do thee good, and make thy 12 
seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multiude.* 
(E) (J) And he lodged "there f that night ; and took of 13 
that which he had with him a "present for Esau his 
hrother; two hundred 'she-goats and twenty he-goats, 14 
two hundred ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch cam- 15 
els and their colts, forty kine and ten hulls, twenty 
she-asses and ten foals. And he delivered them 16 
into the hand of his servants, every "drove hy itself, 
and said unto his servants. Pass over hefore me, and 
put a space betwixt drove and drove. And he com- 17 
manded the foremost, saying. When Esau my brother 
meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying. Whose art 

«3i:3. '47:29. set. V. 22. 9vv. if, 7. 1022:17. Ct. 13:16; 28:14. 'Jv. 2. i2vv. 18, 
2of ; 33 : 10. Ct. 33 : ii. "31 : 38. '*29 : 2f, 8 ; 30 :4o ; v. 19 ; 35 :2i. 

perhaps more exactly as a singular, the ending ahn being understood as an Aramaic 
locative ending corresponding to the am of the Moabite stone. According to Well- 
hausen (Comp. d. Hex., p. 45 [434], note) this is correct and would denote an exacter 
knowledge of Aramaic forms on the part of E than of J. Dillmann, however, 
regards Mahanaim as taken by both J and E for a dual, the two hosts of xxxii. 2 
being Jacob's and "God's." 

* For a great number of reasons verses 9-12 are regarded as due to didactic inter- 
polation. It is claimed that the writer shows himself unmindful of the real scene, 
which must be, not only according to vs. 22, but by relation to Mahanaim and Penuel, 
the ford, not of Jordan, as he has it, vs. 10, but Jabbok. Verse 12 also refers to xxxi. 
3, a verse of doubtful authenticity, and the tone and coloring recall the frequent 
so-called Deuteronomic (didactic) interpolations. (Cf. Gen. xviii. 23ff, xxvi. 3ff, etc.) 
But the conclusive reason against vv. 9-12 is the reference in vs. 12 to xxviii. 14, 
which, however, appears to have been made from memory, and combines phrases 
derived from xvi. 10 and xxii. 17, both JE. Hence the close similarity of the style 
(vs. 10) in this case is insufficient to establish the Jahvistic authorship. 

t "There " may refer to vs. 2, or to the passage, "Therefore he called the name of 
the place Mahanaim," which, we must suppose, was omitted from J after vs. 8 for 
harmonistic reasons. In the latter case the critics are right in assigning this clause 
to J. 



174 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

thou ? and whither goest thou ? and whose are these 

1 8 before thee? then thou shalt say, [They he] thy ser- 
yant Jacob's ; it is a present sent unto my lord Esau : 

19 and, toehold, ''he also is behind us. And he com- 
manded also the second, and the third, and all that 
followed the droves, saying. On this manner shall ye 

20 speak unto Esau, when ye find him ; and ye shall say. 
Moreover, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. 
For he said, I will appease him with the present that 
goeth before me, and afterward I will see his face ; 

21 peradventure he will "accept me. So the present 
passed over before him * and he himself lodged that 
night in the company. f 

22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, 
and his two handmaids, and his eleven children, [ . . . J 

23 (E) and passed over the ford of "Jabbok. [ . . . J — And 
(J) he took them, % — and sent them over the stream, and 

24 sent over that he had. "And Jacob was left alone; 

154:22, 26, etc. 164:7; I. Sam. 25:35. "Ct. v. 10. "Cf. Ex. 4: 24ff. 

* In spite of the universal opinion of critics, which sees in vv. 135-20 a parallel of E 
to J's vv. 3-13^, I am driven by the unmistakable linguistic marks, and especially 
by the reference in xxxiii. 8-10 (cf. vs. 20 above), where the language is still more 
positively J's, to assign vv. 3-2i(i to this writer. See my article. Notes on the 
Analysis of Gen. xxxii.-l. in Hebraica for July, 1891. The comparison of the 
" present " (literally " offering "), which " goes before " the suppliant to " appease " 
the Deity and induces him to " accept" (literally " lift up the face of," cf. Gen. iv. 7) 
the worshipper in vs. 20 is an elaborate preparation for the etymology of xxxiii. 10. 
Jacob will see Esau " as one seeth the face of God " (Pent el), i. e. with a minchah or 
peace-offering. 

+ Wellhausen translates this word as a proper noun, "inMahaneh," connecting 
this with E's etymology of the name (" God's host," v. 2), which, in his opinion, 
treats it as a singular. 

$ The clause, "and he took," should doubtless precede "and passed over." 
" Them " must, of couse, be due to JE since we have here two substantially identical 
statements, and in each source the object of the verb must have been explicitly 
given. Supply "his people." The equivalent phrase in vs. 22 is linguistically 
characterized as J's.— I am indebted to Prof. Moore for the suggestion that vs. 30 is 
perhaps E's. The linguistic form is in fact characteristic of E. Cf. e. g. xxxiii. l^b 
(J). The verse, however, cannot be understood as referring to the incident narrated 
in the context, but rather to some theophany parallel to it in E. This wrestling 
story gives in fact the aetiology of Jabboq (" wrestler") and of Israel, not of Peniel, 
and J's etymology of Peniel (or rather Pen/^el, cf. vs. 31) follows later (xxxiii. 8-10), 
his story of Jabboq and Israel ending at vs. 29. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 175 

and there wrestled "a man with him until the "hreak- 
ing of the day. And when he saw that he "prevailed 25 
not against him, he touched the hollow of his thigh ; 
and the hollow of Jacob's thigh was strained, as he 
wrestled with him. And he said. Let me go, for the 26 
day ""breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, 
except thou bless me. And he said unto him. What 27 
is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And he said. Thy 28 
name shall be called no more Jacob, but "Israel : for 
thou hast striven with God* and [with] men, and hast 
prevailed. And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, 29 
I pray thee, thy name. And he said. Wherefore is it 
that thou dost ask after my name ? And he blessed 
(E) him there. [ . . . ] "And Jacob called the name of 30 
the place Peniel : for, [said he], I have seen God face to 
(J) face, and my life is preserved.f [ . . . ] And the sun 31 
rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, and he halt- 
ed upon his thigh. "Therefore the children of Israel 32 
eat not the sinew of the hip which is upon the hollow 
of the thigh, unto this day : because he touched the 
hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the hip. J 

And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, be- 33 
hold, Esau came, and with him four hundred men. 

I9i8:2; 19:5. ""igns; v. 26. 212^:8-10. "act. 35 : 10. 2323 ; jg . 32:2. 01.33:17. 
3*2 : 24 ; 10 : 9, etc. >32 : 6. 

* The use of Elohim here is perfectly in accord with J's practise elsewhere (cf. 
note to Gen. iii. i.) In the contrasted expression, "God and men," it would be used 
(cf. Jud. ix. 9, 13) even were there not the additional exigencies of the etymology 
(Isra-el) and the concealment of the natne^ vs. 29. The fact that J from this point on 
(in chapters xxxiii. and xxxiv. R seems to have altered to "Jacob" on account of 
XXXV. 10) uses "Israel," while E continues to employ "Jacob," establishes the 
fact that this story belongs really to the former. See, however, the article, 
Hebraica^ July, 1891, above cited. 

t The reference is probably to a theophany of E corresponding to the Jabboq- 
Israel story of J. Possibly some of the material of vs. iif may have been derived 
from the missing account of Peniel in E. 

^Dillmann, who regards verses 25-31 as E, finds a ground for rejecting vs. 32 as 
R's in the fact that its style and language are akin to J. If, however, the foregoing 
passage, with which it is connected in subject-matter, be assigned to J, as above, 
the references given (Dill., Gen. 5, in loc.) to the J passages, x. g, xix. 37f, xxxvi. 33, 
which are the only argument I find advanced against the genuineness of the verse, 
prove simply the contrary. Cf . in addition Gen. ii. 24 note. 



176 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

And he divided the children unto Leah, and unto 

2 Rachel, and unto the two handmaids. And he put 
the handmaids and their children foremost, and Leah 
and her children after, and 'Rachel and Joseph hinder- 

3 most. And he himself passed over before them, and 
bowed himself to the ground seven times, until he 

4 came near to his brother. And Esau 'ran to meet him, 
(E) and embraced him, and fell on his neck, and kissed 

5 him : and they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw 
'the women and the children ; and said, Who are these 
with thee ? And he said, The children which God hath 

6 (J) graciously given thy servant. [ . . . ] 'Then the hand- 
maids came near, they and their children, and they 

7 bowed themselves. And Leah also and her children 
came near and bowed themselves: and after came 
Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 

8 And he said. What meanest thou by 'all this company 
which I met ? And he said, 'To find grace in the sight 

9 of my lord. And Esau said, I have enough; my 

10 brother, let that thou hast be thine. And Jacob said. 
Nay, I pray thee, 'if now I have found grace in thy 
sight, then 'receive my present at my hand : "foras- 
much as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the '"face 

11 (E) of God, and thou wast pleased with me. Take, I 
pray thee, my ''gift that is brought to thee ; because '°God 
hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. 

12 (J) And he urged him, and he took it.* And he said. Let 
US take our journey, and let us go, and I will go be- 

13 fore thee. And he said unto him. My lord knoweth 
that the children are tender, and that the flocks and 
herds with me give suck ; and if they overdrive them 

14 one day, all the flocks will die. Let my lord, I pray 
thee, pass over before his servant : and I will lead on 
softly, according to the pace of the cattle that is be- 

*29:3of. ,3i8:2,etc. ^Ct. v. 6f. ^vv. 1-3. "32:13-21. '18:3,610.; 32:6. ^32:20. 
»i8:5; 19:8, etc. '"Ct. 32:30. i»Ct. v. 10, etc. i^y. 5. 

* Referring to the story of which a trace appears to remain in xxxii. 3. For the 
above analysis, see notes on chap, xxxii. and ct. Hebraica VII. 4. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 177 

fore me and according to the pace of the children, 
until I come unto my lord unto "Seir. And Esau said, 15 
Let me now leave with thee some of the folk that are 
with me. And he said, what needeth it? let me "find 
grace in the sight of my lord. So Esau returned that 16 
day on his way unto Seir. And Jacob journeyed to 17 
Succoth, and built him an house, and made booths for 
his cattle : "therefore the name of the place is called 
Succoth. [ . . . ] 

(E) And Jacob came '°in peace to the city of Shechem, 18 

which is in the land of Canaan, ^''when he came from Paddan-aram ;* 

and encamped before the city. '*And he bought the parcel 19 
of ground, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of 
the children of Hamor, Shechem's father, for an hundred 
pieces of money. "And he erected there f an altar, and 20 
called it El-elohe-Israel. [ . . . ] 

And X 'Dinah the daughter of Leah, which she bare un- 34 
to Jacob, went out to see °the daughters of the land. [ . . . ] 
(J) And Shechem the son of Hamor 'the Hiyite, 'the 2 

1832:3. 1^18 : 3, etc, ; 32:6. 152:24, etc. 1^28:21. "3S'9- 1^103.24:32. Ct. ch. 23. 
1^35:7. 121:9. ^27:46. 3Ct. 23 : 10, etc. ^17: 20; 23:6. 

* Verse 18 appears to have been supplemented by R, since "Paddan-aram" is 
employed by P and R exclusively (cf. xxxv. g, P ; and Josh. xxiv. 32, E). Well- 
hausen offers the conjecture " to Shechem " for "in peace to," but cf. xxviii. 21. (14) 

t The verb nagab, "to erect," is not used of the " building " of an altar, but is the 
regular term for " setting up " a tnaggebah or pillar of stone, and contains in fact the 
same radical. Hence we must either assume the omission of two words meaning 
" a pillar and built " at this point, or, more probably, take mizbeach, " altar," to be 
a correction for »2aff^i5(2//, "pillar," a change historical criticism accounts for by 
the fact that the maggebah in the seventh century came to be regarded by the 
orthodox party as an idolatrous abomination, a radical iconoclasm taking the place 
of the earlier policy of U?ndeutung, or accommodation to Yahweh worship. (Cf . 
Hos. iii. 4, Is. xix. 19 and the numerous passages in JE, Gen. xxviii. 18 ; xxxv. 14, 20; 
Ex. xxiv. 4 ; Josh. iv. 4-8, 20 ; xxiv. 26, etc., with Ex. xxiii. 24 ; xxxiv. 13 ; Num. 
xxxiii. 52 ; Dt. xii. 3 ; and ct. Dt. xvi. 2if ; Lev. xxvi. if.) 

% The assignment of the secondary element of ch. xxxiv. to E in the above analy- 
sis is in accordance with the reasoning of Cornill in his Beitrag on the analysis of 
this chapter in the Ztschr, f. a. Wiss. xi. i. In regard to the J element, and the 
separation of parts, critics are practically agreed. But there are strong objections 
to E as author of the secondary element, both in the character of the story com- 
pared with the rest of this document, in the subsequent references (xxxv. 5 and 
xlviii. 22), and in the language, which exhibits frequent traces of R. On the whole, 
the objections to E seem to be outweighed by the considerations urged by Cornill 
and by Wellhausen (iv. p. 3i2ff). 
12 



178 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

(E) prince of the land, SEW her; aiid he took her, and lay 

3 (J) with her, and humbled her. And his soul 'clave 
unto —Dinah the daughter of Jacob,— and he loved 

4 (E) the damsel, *and spake kindly unto the damsel. And 
Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying, Get me this 

5 (J) damsel to wife. Now Jacob heard that he had dejiied 
Dinah his daughter: aud Iils SOUS wcro wlth hls cattle in 
the field : and Jacob held his peace until they came. 

6 (E) And Hamor the father of Shechem went out unto 

7 (J) Jacob to commune with him. And the sons of Jacob 
came in from the field when they heard it : and the 
men were grieved, and they were very wroth, because 
he had wrought folly in Israel in lying with Jacob's 

8 (E) daughter ; 'which thing ought not to be done. And 
Hamor communed with 'them, saying, The soul of my son 
Shechem longeth for your daughter : I pray you give her 

9 unto him to wife. And make ye marriages with us ; give 
your daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 

10 And ye shall dwell with us : and "the land shall be before 

you: dwell and trade ye \^QTQ.Vl).^ a7id get you possessions therein. 

11 (J) And Shechem said unto her father and unto her 
brethren, "Let me find grace in your eyes, and what 

12 ye shall say unto me I will give. Ask me never so 
much dowry and gift, and I will give according as ye 
shall say unto me : but give me the damsel to wife. 

13 (J E) And the sons of Jacob answered Shechem and Hamor his father 
with ^^guiie, and spake, because* he had defiled Dinah their sister, 

62:24. 6go;2i. ''45:5. 829:26. "Ct. V. 6. i''2o:i5. '16 : 8 ; 18 : 3, etc. '^27:35. 

* Verse 13 gives evidence of editorial treatment in the redundant, "and said" 
(cf. A. V.) and otherwise. It combines apparently elements from both narratives, 
which, however, can scarcely be sundered out. The gap in J at this point leaves 
it uncertain what condition was imposed upon Shechem. There are very serious 
difficulties in the way of supposing it to have been circumcision, for infant cir- 
cumcision in this author (J) is apparently first instituted by Zipporah, Ex. iv. 24flf, 
in place of the primitive rite of marital circumcision, but it does not become univer- 
sal until Josh. v. 2-g (omit the harmonistic interpolations " again " and " the second 
time," vs. 2 and vv. 4-7). In this element of the narrative it is only a family incident 
which is related, and whatever condition was imposed it must have been, according 
to the tenor of the story, something for Shechem alone to fulfil (marital circumcision?). 
Cf. vs. 19. Cornillsuggeststhatthedowry was a "parcel " of land. Cf. xxxiii. 19(E) 
and 1. 5 (J). In this case, " with guile," vs. 13, doubtless an original expression of J, 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 179 

(E) and said unto them, We cannot do this thing, to g^ive our 14 
sister to one that is uncircumcised ; for that were a re- 
proach unto us : only on this condition will we consent un- 15 

to you : if ye will be as we be, that ^^evei-y male of you be circumcised ; 

then will we give our daughters unto you, and we will take 16 
your daughters to us, and we will dwell with you, and we 
will become one people. But if ye will not hearken unto 1 7 
us, to be circumcised ; then will we take our daughter, and 
we will be gone. And their words pleased Hamor, and 18 
(J) Shechem Hamor's son. And tlie young man "de- 19 
ferred not to do the thing, because he had delight in 
Jacob's daughter : and he was honoured above all the 
(E) house of his father. And Hamor and Shechem his 20 
son came unto the gate of their city, and communed with 
the men of their city, saying. These men are peaceable 21 
with us ; therefore let them dwell in the land, and trade 
therein ; for, behold, the land is large enough for them ; 
let us take their daughters to us for wives, and let us give 
them our daughters. Only on this condition will the men 22 
consent unto us to dwell with us, to become one people, if 
every ttiaie among us be circumciscd, as they are circumcised. 

^^Shall not their cattle atid their substatice attd all their beasts be ours ? Only 23 

let US consent unto them, and they will dwell with us. 
And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his son hearkened 24 
all that went out of the gate of his city ; and every male was 
circumcised, all that went out of the gate of his city. And 25 
it came to pass on the third day, when they were sore, [ . . . ] 
(J) that two of the sons of Jacob, "Simeon and Levi, 
(E) Dinah's brethren, took each man his sword, and 
(J) came upon the city unawares, "a«a' slew all the males. And 26 
they slew Hamor and Shechem his son with the edge 
of the sword, and took Dinah out of Shechem's house, 
(E) and went forth. The sons of Jacob came upon the 27 

slain, and spoiled the city, because they had defiled their sister. They 28 

1317:10. 1^24:56; 32:5. 1536:6. Jos 1^.4. I649:5f. i^Num. 31 : 7-9. 

would apply to the conduct of Simeon and Levi in accepting a dowry when they in- 
tended to take revenge. 



180 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

took their flocks and their herds and their asses, and that 
which was in the city, and that which was in the field ; and 

29 all their wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, 
(J) took they captive and spoiled, eve7i all that was in 

30 the house. And Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, Ye 
have troubled me, to make me "to stink among the 
inhabitants of the land, among "the Canaanites and 
the Perizzites : and, I being few in number, they will 
gather themselves together against me and smite me ; 

31 and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. And they 
said. Should he deal with our sister as Avith an har- 
lot?* [ . . . ] 

35 (E) And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go tip to Beth-el, 
and 'dwell there : and make there an altar unto God, who 
^appeared unto thee when thou ^fleddest from the face of 

2 Esau thy brother Then Jacob said unto his household, 
and to all that were with him. Put away the *strange gods 
that are among 5^ou, and ^purify yourselves, and change 

3 your garments : and let us arise, and go up to Beth-el ; and 
"I will make there an altar unto God, who answered me in 
the day of my distress, and was with me in the way which 

4 I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the strange gods 
which were in their hand, and the rings which were in 
their ears ; and Jacob hid them under 'the oak which was 

5 by Shechem. And they journeyed : ^and a great terror 
was upon the cities that were round about them, "and they 

6 (P) did not pursue after the sons of Jacob.f ^"So Jacob 
came to Luz, which is in the land of Cafiaan, ^^ {the same is Beth-el), 

7 (E) [ . . . ] he and all the people that were with him. 
And he built there an altar, and called the place "El-beth- 
el : because there God was revealed unto him, when he 

J8Ex. 5:21. "13:7. iCt. V. 16. 228:iiff. 327:43(5. ■'31:19; Jos. 24 : 20, 23. ^^Ex. 
19:10. '28:20-22. 'Jos. 24:26. ^30:8. 334:2sff. i''28:ioff. "V. 15. 1^33:20. Ct. v. 15. 

* The work of R in ch. xxxiv. is doubtless even more drastic than would appear 
from the above division of the text. Enough, however, of resemblance to E can be 
made out to make the presence of this writer probable. 

+ The reasons assigned for considering vs. 5 due to R seem to the author inade- 
quate. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 181 

fled from the face of his brother. And "Deborah Re- 8 
bekah's nurse died, and she was buried below Beth-el under 
^Hhe oak : and the name of it was called Allon-bacuth. 

(P) ^^And God appeared unto Jacob again, when he cat?ie from 9 
Faddan-aram, and blessed him. — ^^A?id God said unto him, Thy 10 
name is Jacob : thy name shall not be called any more Jacob, but 
Israel shall be thy name : and he called his name Israel. — And 1 1 
God said unto him, "I am God Almighty : ^^ be fruitful and mul- 
tiply ; a nation and a compa7iy of nations shall be of thee, and kings 
shall come out of thy loins j and the land which I gave unto Abra- 12 

ham and Isaac, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed after thee will I 
give the land. ^^ And God Went Up from him in the place ivhere he spake 1 3 

(J) with Mm* And Jacob set up a pillar in the place 14 
where he spake with him, a pillar of stone : and he 
poured out a drink offering thereon, and poured oil 

(P) thereon. t And Jacob called the navie of the place where 15 

(J) God spake with him, "^^ Beth-el. And they journeyed 16 
from Beth-el ; and there was still some way to come 
to Ephrath : and Rachel travailed, and she had hard 
labour. And it came to pass, when she was in hard 17 
labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not : for 
now thou Shalt have "another son. And it came to 18 
pass, as her soul was in departing (for she died), that 
she called his name Ben-oni: but his father called 
(E) him Benjamin. And Rachel died, and was buried in 19 
the way to Ephrath (the same is Beth-lehem). And Jacob set 20 
up a pillar upon her grave : the same is the Pillar of 
(J) Rachel's grave unto this day. And Israel journeyed, 21 
and spread his tent beyond the tower of Eder. And 22 
it came to pass, while Israel dwelt in that land, that 

i3Ct. 24:59. i^Jud. 4:5; 13:40. 151. Sam. 8: 3f. i^ct. 32 :27fE. "Ex. 6:2f. "17. g^ 
i6. 1917: 22. aoCt. 28 : 19. 2130 : 23. Ct. vv. 24 and 26. 

* Verses 9-13 seem to present an unusual amount of redactional work. " In the 
place where he spake with him " is probably a dittograph from vs. 14, as appears from 
a comparison of xvii. 22 ; but the last clause of vs. 12 seems to be due to supplemen- 
tary redaction. Of much more importance is the apparent interference of vs. 10 
between vv. 9 and 11. The verse is attributed by all critics to P, but would appear to 
have been derived originally from between 12 and 13, or from some other connection. 

+ See note to xxviii. 16. 



183 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

"Reuben went and lay with Bilhah Ms father's con- 
cuhine : and Israel heard of it.* [ • •• ] 

23 (P) JVow the sons of Jacob were twelve : the sons of Leah ; 
Reuben, Jacob's firstborn, and Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and 

24 Lssachar, and Zebulun : the sons of Rachel ; Joseph and Ben- 
2^jainin: and the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid ; Dan and 
26 Naphtali : and the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid ; Gad a?id 

Asher : these are the sons of Jacob, which were borfi to him ^^in 

2 7 Paddan-aram. And Jacob came unto Lsaac his father to Mamre, 

to Kiriath-arba {the same is LLebron), where Abraham and Lsaac 

28 sojourned. '^'^ And the days of Lsaac were an hundred and four- 

29 score years. And Lsaac gave up the ghost, ajid died, and was 
gathered unto his people, old and full of days ; and Esau and 
Jacob his sons buried him. 

36 (R) ^Now these are the generations of Esau {the same is Edom). 

2 Esau took his wives of the daughters of Canaan ; '^Adak the 
daughter of Eton the Hittite, and Oholibamah the daughter of 

3 Anah, the daiighter of Zibeon the Hivite ; and Basemath IshmaeVs 

4 daughter, sister of Nebaioth. And Adah bare to Esau Eliphaz ; 

5 and Basemath bare Reuel ; and Oholibamah bare feush, and Ja- 
tajn, and Korah : ^these are the sons of Esau, which were born un- 

2249:3. 2sct. V. 18. 2425 :8f. ^V. 9. 2Ct. 26:34; 28:9. 335:26. 

* The analysis of J E in vv. 16-22 is abandoned by K. and S. Other critics assign 16-20 
to E, noting apparent traces of J. The evidence for the above analysis will be found 
in Hebraica VII. 4 (1891). The main argument for J as narrator of these " journey- 
ings" is the command to " dwell there " (at Bethel) in vs. i (E, cf. vs. 16a, J), but 
cf. also 176 with xxx. 246 (J), and "for she died," vs. 18, with " and Rachel died," 
vs. 19.— "Tower of the flock" (Eder) in vs. 21 Well, considers an allusion by R to 
Jerusalem (cf. Micah iv. 8) ; but Dillmann translates, " on the f urtSer side of a watch 
tower." Verse 22 may possibly be an anticipatory explanation of xlix. 3, which is 
supposed to allude to the ancient Arab practise perpetuated in Reuben, prevalent 
perhaps among the neighboring Moabites and Ammonites (Gen. xix. 3off), and 
alluded to in II. Sam. xvi. 22 and I. Kings ii. 22. Such suppositions, however, of the 
insertion of matter of fact, to serve as the basis of subsequent reference, are in the 
highest degree precarious. The author has, therefore, retained 2if as J's (cf. 
"Israel" with "Jacob" vs. 20), though willing to admit the probability of altera- 
tion, especially abbreviation, by R. — Textual and the higher criticism come practi- 
cally into contact in vs. 19, which exhibits an interesting phenomenon. The gloss 
(" the same is Bethlehem ") betrays its late origin by its mistaken explanation. The 
grave of the ancestress of Joseph and Benjamin was shown before the Exile, not in 
the midst of Judah, but on the boundary between these two tribes. That the " Eph- 
rath" here referred to was not Bethlehem, but a town of Ephraim (i. e. " Ephrath- 
ite "), in the neighborhood of Bethel, as the context here demands, and in such a 
position as above stated to be probable, is made certain by I. Sam. x. 2flf, "by 
Rachel's sepulchre in the border of Benjamin by Zelzah," and by Jer. xxxi. 15. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 183 

(P) to nim m the land of Canaan.'^- "And Esau took his wives, 6 
and his sons, and his daughters, and all the souls of his house, and 
his cattle, and all his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had 
gathered in the land of Canaan ; and went into a land f away 
from his brother Jacob. ^For their substance was too great for 7 
them to dwell together j and the land of their sojournings could 
not bear them because of their cattle. And Esau dwelt in rnoimt 8 
Seir : Esau is Edom. ^ And these are the generations of Esau the 9 
(R) father of the Edoniites in mount Seir : these are the names 10 
of Esau's sons ; Eliphaz the sott of Adah the wife of Esau, Reuel 
the son of Basemath the wife of Esau. And the sons of Eli- 11 
phas were Teman, Omar, Zepho, and Gatam, and Kenas. And 12 
Timna was concubine to Eliphas Esau's son ; and she bare to 
Eliphaz Amalek : these are the sons of Adah Esatt's wife. And 13 
these are the sons of Reuel ; Nahath, and Zerah, Shamtnah, 
and Mizzah: these were the sons of Basemath Esau's wife. 
Atid these were the sons of Oholibamah the daughter of Anah, 14 
the daughter of Zibeon, Esau's wife: and she bare to Esati 
feush, and J al am, and Korah. These are the dukes of the sons ^15 
Esau: the sons of Eliphaz ''the firstborn of Esau ; duke Teman, 
duke Omar, duke Zepho, duke Kenaz, ^duke Korah, duke Gatajfi, 16 
duke Amalek : these are the dukes that came of Eliphaz, in the 
land of Edom ; these are the sons of Adah. And these are the 17 
sotis of Reuel Esau's sot ; duke Nahath, duke Zerah, duke Sham- 
inah, duke Mizzah : these are the dukes that came of Reuel in the 
land of Edom ; these are the sons of Basemath Esau's wife. And 18 
these are the sons of Oholibamah Esau's wife ; duke feush, duke 
falam, duke Korah : these are the dtikes that came of Oholibamah 
the daughter cf Anah, Esau's wife. These are the sons of Esau, 19 
and these are their dtikes : the same is Edom. 

These are the sons of Seir the Horite, the inhabitants of the 20 
land ; Lotan and Shobal and Zibeon and Anah, and Dishon and 
Ezer and Dishan: these are the dukes that came of the Horites, 21 
the children of Seir itt the land of Edom. And the children of 22 

••12:5, etc. 613:6. Ct. ch. 27 ; 32 :3, etc. "2:4, etc. '25 : 13 ; 35 : 23. ^ct. vv. 14, 18. 

* Xxxvi. 1-5 is a passage completely in the style of P, even to the wording of the 
title (cf. vs. 9), but impossible to assign to P on account of xxvi. 34f and xxviii. 9. In 
vs. 2 read " son " according to (R. V.) margin, and for "Hivite," Horite (cf. vv. 20 
and 24). See note to vs. 30. 

tThe Hebrew of vs. f,b shows that after the word " land " the proper name of the 
land " Seir," has fallen out. Xxxvii. i probably preceded vs. 6 in its original 
position. Vs. 85 presents a different shade of meaning from vs. 9, and is regarded 
as a gloss 



184 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Lotan were Hori and Hemam ; ^and Lot an' s sister was Timna. 

23 And these are the children of Shobal ; Alvan and Manahath and 

24 Ebal, Shepho and Onam. And these are the children of Zibeo7i ; 
Aiah and Anah: this is Anah who found the hot springs in the wil- 

25 derness, as he fed the asses of Zibeon his father. A nd these are the 
children of Anah ; Dishon and Oholiba77iah the daughter of Anah. 

26 And these are the children of Dishoii ; Henidan and Eshban and 

27 Ithran and Cher an. These are the childreji of Ezer ; Bilhan and 

28 Zaavan aiid Akan. These are the children of Dishan; Uz and 

29 Aran. These are the dukes that came of the Horites ; duke Lotan, 

30 duke Shobal, duke Zibeon, duke Anah, duke Dishon, duke Ezer, 
duke Dishan : these are the dukes that came of the Horites, ac- 
cording to their dukes in the land of Seir.* 

31 (J) And these are the kings that reigned in the land 
of Edom, hefore there reigned any king oyer the chil- 

32 dren of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in 
2,2> Edom ; and the name of his city was Dinhahah. And 

Bela died, and Jobah the son of Zerah of Bozrah 

34 reigned in his stead. And Jobah died, and Husham 
of the land of the Temanites reigned in his stead. 

35 And Hnsham died, and Hadad the son of Bedad, who 
smote Midian in "the field of Moab, reigned in his 

36 stead : and the name of his city was Avith. And Ha- 
dad died, and Samlah of Masrekah reigned in his 

37 stead. And Samlah died, and Shaul of Kehoboth by 

38 the Biver reigned in his stead. And Shaul died, and 
Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his stead. 

39 And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and Hadar 
reigned in his stead : and the name of his city was 
Pan ; and his wife's name was Mehetabel, the daugh- 

40 (P) ter of Matred, the daughter of Me-zahab. And 

these are the nafnes of the dukes that came of £sau, according to 
their families., after their places., by their names ; duke Timnah, 

*V. 12 ; 4 : 22. ^''32 : 4 ; Num. 21 : 20. 

* Vv. 10-30 are assigned to R, according to the conviction of many critics that they, 
as well as vv. s-sa, contain at least material derived from J, especially vs. 24 ; but 
in despair of discovering any clew to disentangle the threads. The material has 
apparently been recast by the redactor who so exactly imitates the style of P in vs. 
1-5.— Cf. Part III.— In vs. 27 read Jaakan according to (R. V.) margin on account of 
Num. xxxiii. 3if. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 185 

duke Alvah, duke Jetheth ; duke Oholibamah^ duke Elah, duke 41 
Finon ; duke Kenaz, duke Teman, duke Mibzar ; ^duke Mag- 42-43 
diel, duke Irani : these be the dukes of Edom, according to their 
habitations in the land of their possession. This is Esau the 
father of the Edomites.* 

— And Jacob dwelt in the land of his father s sojournings, in 37 
the land of Canaan.^ — ^ These are the generations of Jacob. 2 
(E) Joseph, being seventeen years old, [ . . . ] was feeding the 
flock with his brethren ; and he was a lad with the sons of 
Bilhah, and with the sons of Zilpah, his father's wives : and Joseph 
brought the evil report of them unto their father. J 
(J) Now 'Israel loved Joseph more than all his chil- 3 
dreu, because he was 'the son of his old age : and he 
made him a coat of many colours.! And his brethren 4 
saw that their father loved him more than all his breth- 
ren ; and they hated him, and could not speak peace- 
(E) ably unto him. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and 5 
he told it to his brethren : and they hated him yet the more.§ 
And he said unto them, Hear, I pray you, this dream which 6 
I have dreamed : for, behold, we were binding sheaves in 7 
the field, and, lo, my sheaf arose, and also stood upright ; 
and, behold, your sheaves came round about, and made 
obeisance to my sheaf. And his brethren said unto him, 8 
Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? or shalt thou indeed have 
dominion over us ? And they hated him yet the more for his 

^2:24, etc. ^32:28. ^21:2; 44:20. 

* The last part of ch. xxxvi. affords better ground for analysis^ but even 31-39 
must be considered of uncertain origin. Vv. 40-43 are regarded by all critics as 
certainly from P. 

+ Insert after xxxvi. S. 

% The clause in brevier type is supposed to have been inserted to remove the 
reproach implied in the clause following from the sons of Leah, i. e. Reuben, 
Simeon, Levi and Judah. 

( Read " long sleeved tunic " with (R. V.) margin, and cf. II. Sam. xiii. i8ff. 

§From the critical standpoint verse 5* betrays an acquaintance with vs. 4 and 
anticipates vs. n, besides giving it a twist toward the conception of J. Possibly E 
might have had a statement of this hatred after vs. 2, but even in this case it should 
not appear until his brethren have heard the subject-matter of the dream. The 
LXX. would, therefore, be right in omitting the clause. The same judgment applies 
to vs. 86, where "dreams" (plural) anticipates vs. 9. 



186 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

9 dreams, and for his words.* And he dreamed yet another 
dream, and told it to his brethren, and said. Behold, I have 
dreamed yet a dream ; and, behold, the sun and the moon 

10 and eleven stars made obeisance to me. And he told it to his 
father, and to his brethren ; f and his father rebuked him, and 
said unto him. What is this dream that thou hast dreamed ? 
Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to 

1 1 bow down ourselves to thee to the earth ? And his breth- 
ren ^envied him ; but his father kept the saying in mind. 

12 (J) And his brethren went to feed their father's flock 

13 in Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not 
thy brethren feed the flock in Shechem ? come, and I 
(E) will send thee unto them. [ . . ] And he said to 

14 him, 'Here am I. And he said to him, Go now, see whether 
it be well with thy brethren, and well with the flock ; 
(J) and bring me word again. So he sent him out of 

15 (E) the vale of Hebron, J and he came to Shechem. And 
a certain man found him, and, behold, he was ^wandering 
in the field : and the man asked him, saying. What seekest 

16 thou ? And he said, I seek my brethren : tell me, I pray 

17 thee, where they are feeding [the flock]. And the man 
said, They are departed hence : for I heard them say. Let 
us go to Dothan. .And Joseph went after his brethren, 

18 and found them in Dothan. And they saw him afar off, 
(J) and before he came near unto them, they con- 

19 (E) spired against him to slay him. And they said 

20 one to another. Behold, this 'dreamer cometh. Come now 
therefore, and let us slay him, and cast him into one of the 
pits, and we will say, *An evil beast hath devoured him : 

21 (J) and we shall see what will become of his dreams. And 

<3o: J ; Ct. V. 3f. ^22 : i, 7, etc. '21:14. 'Vv. 5-11. "v. 33. €1.44:28. 

* See note preceding. 

t Supplementary redaction. A part of ga is repeated and the " father " included, 
as the following, " his father rebuked him," may have seemed to require a special 
statement that "his father " also was informed. So Wellhausen et al. 

X Critics seriously question whether Hebron was the place originally mentioned 
here. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 187 

Reuben* heard it, and delivered him out of their hand ; 
(E) and said. Let us not take his life. And Reuben 22 
said unto them, Shed no blood ; cast him into this pit that 
is in the wilderness, but 'lay no hand upon him : that he 
might deliver him out of their hand, to restore him to his 
(J) father. And it came to pass, when Joseph was 23 
(E) come unto his brethren, [ . . . ] thatf they stript 
(J) Joseph of his coat, the coat of many colours that 
(E) was on him ; and they took him, and cast him into 24 
the pit : and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. 
(J) And they sat down to eat bread : "and they lifted up 25 
their eyes and looked, and, behold, a travelling com- 
pany of Ishmaelites came from Grilead, with their 
camels hearing "spicery and balm and myrrh, going 
to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto his 26 
brethren. What profit is it if we slay our brother and 
conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the 27 
Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for 
he is our brother, "our flesh. And his brethren 
(E) hearkened unto him. And there passed by Midian- 28 
ites, merchantmen : and "they drew and lifted up Joseph 
(J) out of the pit, "and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites 
(E) for twenty pieces of silver. And they brought 
Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben '^returned unto the pit ; 29 
and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit ; and "he rent his 
clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, and said, 30 
The child is not ; and I, whither shall I go ? And they 3 1 
took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and dipped the 
(J) coat in the blood ; and they sent the coat of many 32 
(E) colours, [ . • . ] and they brought it to their father ; 
and said, This have we found : know now whether it be thy 
son's coat or not. And he knew it, and said. It is my son's 33 
(J) coat ; "an evil beast hath devoured him ; "Joseph is 

•22:12. '"33:1. "43:11. 122:23; 29:14. "40:15. Ct. 45:4. "45:4- Ct. 40:15. 
>'V. 22. ct. V. 27. »«V. 20. i'44 : 28. 

♦Supposed to have been altered in conformity with the following verse from 
"Judah," who in J is always spokesman. Reuben is introduced as if for the first 
time in the next verse. + Heb. " And." 



188 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

34 (E) without doubt torn in pieces. And Jacob rent his 
garments, and put sackcloth upon his loins, and mourned 

35 (J) for his son many days. And all his SOns and all his 
daughters rose up to comfort him ; but he refused ''to 
be comforted ; and he said, "For I will go down to the 
grave to my son mourning. And his father wept for 

^6 (E) him. And the ^"Midianites sold him into Egypt unto 
Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the gnard.* 

38 (J) —And it came to pass at that time, that Judah 
went down from his brethren, and turned in to a cer- 

2 tain Adullamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah 
saw there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose 
name was Shua ; and he took her, and went in unto 

3 her. And she conceived, and bare a son ; and he t 

4 called his name Er. And she conceived again, and 

5 bare a son ; and she called his name Onan. And she 
yet again bare a son, and called his name Shelah : and 

6 het was at Chezib, when she bare him. And Judah 
took a wife for Er his firstborn, and her name was 

7 Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in 

8 the sight of Tahweh, and Yahweh slew him. And 
Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, 
and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto 

9 her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan 
knew that the seed should not be his ; and it came to 
pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that 
he spilled it on the ground, lest he should give seed 

10 to his brother. And the thing which he did was evil 

11 in the sight of Yahweh : and he slew him also. Then 
said Judah to Tamar his daughter in law. Remain a 

"24:67; 38:12. i»42:38- 20v. 283. Ct. 25,28^; 39:1. 

* The slight divergences from the usual analyses of ch. xxxvii. in verses 28 and 
32f are based upon the statements in xl. 15 (E) in contrast with xlv. 4f (J) in regard 
to the means of Joseph's being brought down to Egypt, and of xliv. 28 (J) in regard 
to Israel's utterance. Verses 29-31, 321^, c, d, 333 (E), represent the dismay of Reuben 
and the brothers at finding Joseph gone from the pit as perfectly genuine and their 
assumption of his death as real. Cf. xlii. 13 and 22 (E). 

t Read " she called " with Sam. and Targ. Jon. 

t Read " and she " with LXX. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 189 

widow in thy father's house, till Shelah my son be 
grown up ; for he said. Lest he also die, like his breth- 
ren. And Tamar went and dwelt in her father's house. 
'And in process of time Shua's daughter, the wife of 12 
Judah, died ; and Judah 'was comforted, and went up 
unto his sheepshearers to Timnah, he and his friend 
Hirah the Adullamite. And it was told Tamar, say- 13 
ing. Behold, thy father in law goeth up to Timnah to 
shear his sheep. And she put off from her the gar- 14 
ments of widowhood, and covered herself with her 
veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the gate of 
Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah ; for she saw 
that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given un- 
to him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her 
to be an harlot ; for she had covered her face. And 16 
he turned unto her by the way, and said, 'Go to, I 
pray thee, let me come in unto thee : for he knew not 
that she was his daughter in law. And she said. 
What wilt thou give me, that thou mayest come in 
unto me? And he said, I will send thee a kid of the 17 
goats from the flock. And she said. Wilt thou give 
me a pledge, till thou send it? And he said. What 18 
pledge shall I give thee? And she said. Thy signet 
and thy cord, and thy staff that is in thine hand. And 
he gave them to her, and came in unto her, and she 
conceived by him. And she arose, and went away, 19 
and put off her veil from her, and put on the gar- 
ments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of 20 
the goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to 
receive the pledge from the woman's hand: but he 
found her not. Then he asked the men of her place, 21 
saying. Where is the harlot that was at Enaim by the 
way-side? And they said. There hath been no harlot 
here. And he returned to Judah, and said, I have 22 
not found her ; and also the men of the place said. 
There hath been no harlot here. And Judah said, 23 
126:8. 224:67, 311:3. 



190 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

Let her take it to her, lest we he put to shame : he- 
hold, I sent this kid, and thou hast not found her. 

24 And it came to pass ahout three months after, that it 
was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy daughter in law 
hath played the harlot ; and moreover, hehold, she is 
with child hy whoredom. And Judah said. Bring her 

25 forth, and 'let her he hurnt. When she was Ibrought 
forth, she sent to her father in law, saying. By the 
man whose these are, am I with child : and she said, 
Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and 

26 the cords, and the staff. And Judah acknowledged 
them, and said. She is more righteous than I, 'foras- 
much as I gave her not to Shelah my son. And he 

27 'knew her again no more. 'And it came to pass in the 
time of her travail, that, behold, twins were in her 

28 womb. And it came to pass, when she travailed, that 
one put out a hand : 'and the midwife took and bound 
upon his hand a scarlet thread, saying. This came out 

29 first. And it came to pass, as he drew back his hand, 
that, behold, his brother came out: and she said. 
Wherefore hast thou made a breach for thyself? there- 

30 fore his name was called Perez. And afterward came 
out his brother, that had the scarlet thread upon his 
hand : and his name was called Zerah.* — 

39 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt ; and Poti- 

phar, an officer of Pharaoh's, the captain of the guard, f au Egyp- 
tian, bought him of the hand of the 'Ishmaelites, 

4 Ct. Lev. 20: 10; Dt. 22:23!?. ^18:5, etc. '4:1, etc. '25:24!?. ^35:17. 137:25!?. 
Ct. 37:36- 

* It is difficult to find a position in the narrative of Genesis as we now have it 
where ch. xxxviii. would appear less inappropriately than in its present position, 
though it is now quite impossible to reconcile with the context. We may suppose 
perhaps that originally it stood after xxxv. 22. Cf. the beginning of this verse with 
xxxviii. I. According to historical criticism the narrative represents a tradition of 
Judah separating himself from his brethren, going into the southern district, and 
mingling there with the Canaanitish tribes, and anticipates thus the story of the 
settling of this region by Judah in alliance with the Kenites, Kenizzites and Jerach- 
meelites, after the Exodus, very much as Gen. xii. loi? is supposed to anticipate the 
story of Egyptian oppression, plagues, deliverance and occupation of Canaan. 

In vv. 29 and 30 read " she called " with Sam. and Syr. 

t Harmonistic redaction. Cf. xxxvii. 36. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 191 

which had brought him down thither. And Yahweh 2 
was with Joseph, 'and he was a prosperous man ; and 
he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And 3 
his master saw that Yahweh was with him, and that 
Yahweh made all that he did to prosper in his hand. 
(E) And Joseph 'found grace in his sight *and he minis- 4 
(J) tered unto him : and he made him oyerseer over his 
house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And 5 
it came to pass 'from the time that he made him over- 
seer in his house, and over all that he had, that Yah- 
weh 'blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake ; 
and the blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had, 
(E) in the house and in the field. And he left all that 6 
(J) he had in Joseph's hand ; 'and he knew not aught 
[that was] with him, save the bread which he did eat. 
And Joseph was comely, and well favoured. And it 7 
came to pass after these things, that his master's 
wife cast her eyes upon Joseph: and she said. Lie 
with me. But he refused, and said unto his master's 8 
wife, 'Behold, my master knoweth not what is with 
me in the house, and he hath put all that he hath in- 
to my hand ; there is none greater in this house than 9 
I ; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but 
thee, because thou art his wife : how then can I do 
this great wickedness, and sin against God?* And it 10 
came to pass, as she spake to Joseph day by day, that 
he hearkened not unto her, to lie by her, [or] to be 
with her. And it came to pass about this time, that 11 
he went into the house to do his work; and there 
was none of the men of the house there within. And 12 
she caught him by his garment, saying. Lie with me : 
and he left his garment in her hand, and fled, and got 
him out. And it came to pass, when she saw that he 13 
had left his garment in her hand, and was fled forth, 
that she called unto the men of her house, and spake 14 

224:21. 36:8, etc. *4o:4 ; Ex. 24 : 13. ^Ex. 4 : 10 ; 5 :23 ; 9 : 24. 630:27. ''V. 8. 
* Elohim because a heathen is addressed. Cf. Gen. iii. i, n-te. 



192 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

unto them, saying, See, he hath brought in an Hebrew 
unto us to mock us ; he came in unto me to lie with 

15 me, and I cried with a loud voice : and it came to 
pass, when he heard that I lifted up my voice and 
cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled, and 

16 got him out. And she laid up his garment by her, 

17 until his master came home. And she spake unto 
him according to these words, saying. The Hebrew 
servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in 

t8 unto me to mock me : and it came to pass, as I lifted 
up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by 

19 me, and fled out. And it came to pass, when his mas- 
ter heard the words of his wife, which she spake un- 
to him, saying. After this manner did thy servant to 

20 me ; that his wrath was kindled. And Joseph's mas- 
ter took him, and put him into the prison, the place 
where the kiiig-'s prisoners were bound :* and he was there 

21 in the prison. But Yahweh was with Joseph, and 
'shewed kindness unto him, and gave him favour in 

22 the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper 
of the prison committed to Joseph's hand all the pris- 
oners that were in the prison ; and whatsoever they 

2T, did there, he was the doer of it. "The keeper of the 
prison looked not to any thing that was under his 
hand, because Yahweh was with him ; and that which 
he did, Yahweh made it to prosper.! 

40 (E)(J) 'And it came to pass after these things, that X 

the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker oft'en- 

2 (E) ded their lord the king of Egypt. [ . . . ] And|| 

Pharaoh was wroth against his two officers, against the 

chief of the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. 

824:12. "v. sf. lis: I ; 22:1, 20, etc. 

♦The clauses in brevier type, vv. 10 and 20, are probably explanatory glosses. 

t Verses 21-23 are suspected by some critics of alteration by R, or perhaps even of 
being interpolated entire, in the interest of harmony between J's representation and 
E's. There seems to me to be no sufficient ground for rejecting them in whole or in 
part. 

JHeb. "And." J Heb. "That." 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 193 

And he put them in ward '^in the house of the captain o£ 3 
(J) the guard, 'into the prison, the place where Joseph 

(E) was bound. [ . • . ] And the captain of the guard 4 
charged Joseph with them, and he ministered unto them : 
and they continued a season in ward. And they dreamed 5 
a dream both of them, each man his dream, in one night, 
(J) each man according to the interpretation of his 
dream, the hutler and the baker of the king of Egypt, 
(E) which were bound in the prison. [ . . . ] And Joseph 6 
came in unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, 
behold, they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers 7 
that were with him in ward *in his master's house, saying. 
Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day ? And they said unto 8 
him. We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that 
can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them, 'Do not in- 
terpretations belong to God ? tell it me, I pray you. And 9 
the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said to him. 
In my dream, behold, a vine was before me ; and in the 10 
vine were three branches : and it was as though it budded, 
[and] its blossoms shot forth ; [and] the clusters thereof 
brought forth ripe grapes : and Pharaoh's cup was in my 1 1 
hand ; and I took the grapes, and pressed them into Pha- 
raoh's cup, and I gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand. And 12 
Joseph said unto him. This is the interpretation of it : the 
three branches are three days ; within yet three days shall 13 
Pharaoh lift up thine head, and restore thee to thine office : 
and thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the 
former manner when thou wast his butler. But have me 14 
in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, and 
shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make mention of 
me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house : 'for in- 15 
deed I was stolen away out of the land of the Hebrews : 
(J) and here also have I done nothing that they should 
(E) 'put me into the dungeon. [ . . . ] When the chief 16 
baker saw that the interpretation was good, he said unto 
Joseph, I also was in my dream, and, behold, three baskets 

"37:36. 33g:2ofE. 4Ct. 39:2off. V : i6, sSf- «37 = 28a. Ct. 285. ■'39:2off. 
13 



194 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

17 of white bread were on my head : and in the uppermost 
basket there was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ; 
and the birds did eat them out of the basket upon my 

18 head. And Joseph answered and said, This is the inter- 

19 pretation thereof : the three baskets are three days ; with- 
in yet three days shall Pharaoh *lift up thy head from off 
thee, and shall hang thee on a tree ; and the birds shall 

20 eat thy flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third 
day, which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast 
unto all his servants : and he lifted up the head of the 
chief butler and the head of the chief baker among his 

21 servants.* And he restored the chief butler unto his but- 
lership again ; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand : 

22 but he hanged the chief baker : as Joseph had interpreted 

23 to them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, 
but forgat him. 

41 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that 
Pharaoh dreamed : and, behold, he stood by the river. 

2 And, behold, there came up Out of the river seven kine, 
well favoured and fat fleshed ; and they fed in the reed- 

3 grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them 
out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed ; and stood 

4 by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the ill 
favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven well 

5 favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he slept 
and dreamed a second time : and, behold, seven ears of 

6 corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. And, be- 
hold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east wind, 

7 sprung up after them. And the thin ears swallowed up 
the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh awoke, and, 

8 behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass in the morn- 
ing that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent and called 
for all the magicians of Egypt, and all his wise men there- 
of : and Pharaoh told them his dream ;f but there was 

sy. 13. 

* With a play upon the double sense of the expression, " lift up the head." Of. 
vv. 13 and 19. 
+ Read " dreams " with Sam., and cf. last clause of the verse. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 195 

none that could interpret them unto Pharaoh. Then spake 9 
the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, I do remember my 
faults this day : 'Pharaoh was wroth with his servants, and 10 
put me* in ward in the house of the captain of the guard, 
me and the chief baker : and we dreamed a dream in one 1 1 
night, I and he ; we dreamed each man according to the 
interpretation of his dream. And there was with us there 1 2 
a young man, an Hebrew, ^servant to the captain of the 
guard ; and we told him, and he interpreted to us our 
dreams ; to each man according to his dream he did inter- 
pret. And it came to pass, as he interpreted to us, so it 13 
was ; me he restored unto mine office, and him he hanged. 
(J) Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they 14 
Ibrought him hastily "out of the dungeon : [ . . . ] and 
(E) he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came 
in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have 15 
dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it : 
and I have heard say of thee, that when thou hearest a dream 
thou canst interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh 16 
saying, *It is not in me : God shall give Pharaoh an answer 
of peace. And Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, 17 
behold, I stood upon the brink of the river : and, behold, 18 
there came up out of the river seven kine, fatfieshed and 
well favoured ; and they fed in the reed-grass : and, be- 19 
hold, seven other kine came up after them, poor and very 
ill favoured and leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the 
land of Egypt for badness : and the lean and ill favoured 20 
kine did eat up the first seven fat kine : and when they had 2 1 
eaten them up, it could not be known that they had eaten 
them ; but they were still ill favoured, as at the beginning. 
So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, seven 22 
ears came up upon one stalk, full and good : and, behold, 23 
seven ears, withered, thin, [and] blasted with the east wind, 
sprung up after them : and the thin ears swallowed up the 24 
seven good ears : and I told it unto the magicians ; but 

^Ch. 40. 2^7 jgg J 4o.^^_ ct. 39:2off ; V. 145. '39 : 2ofif ; 40 : 15. Ct. v. 12. ^40:8; 45:8. 
* Read with LXX. and Sam. "them." 



196 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

25 there was none that could declare it to me. And Joseph 
said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pharaoh is one : what 

26 God is about to do he hath declared unto Pharaoh. The 
seven good kine are seven years ; and the seven good ears 

27 are seven years : the dream is one. And the seven lean 
and ill favoured kine that came up after them are seven 
years, and also the seven empty ears blasted with the east 

28 wind ; they shall be seven years of famine. That is the 
thing which I spake unto Pharaoh : what God is about to 

29 do he hath shewed unto Pharaoh. Behold, there come 
seven years of great plenty throughout all the land of 

30 Egypt : and there shall arise after them seven years of 
famine ; and all the plenty shall be forgotten in the land 

31 (J) of Egypt ; and the famine shall consume the land ; and 
the plenty shall not be known in the land hy reason 
of that famine which followeth ; for it shall he very 

32 (E) grievous. [ • • • ] And for that the dream was 
doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is 
established by God, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 

2,^ Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet 

34 (J) and wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. Let 
(E) Pharaoh €lo [this], and let him appoint overseers 
(J) over the land and take up 'the fifth part of the land 

35 of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. And let them 
gather all the food of these good years that come, 
(E) and lay up corn under the hand of Pharaoh for food 

36 (J) (E) 'in the cities, and let them keep it. And the 
food shall be for a store to the land against the seven years 
of famine, which shall be in the land of Egypt ; that the 

37 land perish not through the famine. And the thing was 
good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his ser- 

38 vants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants. Can we find 
such a one as this, a man in whom the spirit of God is ? 

39 And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, 'Forasmuch as God hath 
shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as 

40 thou : thou shalt be over my house, and according unto 

847:26. 847: 21. ''Ct. 18:5, etc. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 197 

thy word shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne 
(J) will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto 41 
Joseph, 'See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. 
And Pharaoh took off his signet ring from his hand, 42 
and put it upon Joseph's hand, and arrayed him in vest- 
ures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck ; 
and he made him to ride in the second chariot which 43 
he had ; and they cried before him. Bow the knee : and 
he set him over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh 44 
said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without thee 
shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the land 
of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name Zaphe- 45 
nath-paneah ; and he gave him to wife Asenath the 
(P) daughter of 'Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph 

went out over the land of Egypt. And Joseph was thirty years 46 
old when he stood before Pharaoh king of Egypt. [ . . . ] 

(J) And Joseph went out from the presence of Pha- 
raoh, and went throughout all tlie land of Egypt. 
And in the seven plenteous years the earth brought 47 
forth by handfuls. And he gathered up all the food 48 
of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, 
and laid up the food "in the cities : the food of the 
field, which was round about every city, laid he up in 
(E) the same. And Joseph laid up corn "as the sand of 49 
the sea, very much, until he left numbering ; for it was 
without number. And unto Joseph were born two sons 50 
before the year of famine came, which Asenath the daughter 
of Poti-phera priest of On bare unto him. And Joseph called 5 1 
the name of the firstborn Manasseh : For, [said he], God 
hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. 
And the name of the second called he Ephraim : For God 52 
(J) hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. And 53 
the seven years of plenty, that was in the land of 
(E) Egypt, came to an end. And the seven years of 54 
famine began to come, according as Joseph had said : and 
there was famine in all lands ; but in all the land of 

827:27; 31:50; Ek. 33:13. »Cf. 37:36. i»v. 35; 47:21. 111. Kings 4: 20, 29. 



198 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

55 (J) Egypt there was bread. And when all the land of 
Egypt was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for 
bread : and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go 

56 unto Joseph ; what he saith to you, do. And the 
famine was over all the face of the earth : and Joseph 
opened all the storehouses, and sold unto the Egyp- 
tians ; and the famine was sore in the land of Egypt. 

57 (E) [ . . . ] And all countries came into Egypt to Joseph 
for to buy corn ; because the famine was sore in all the 
earth.* 

42 Now Jacob saw that there was com in Egypt, and Jacob 
said unto his sons, Why do ye look one upon another ? 

2 (J) (E) And he said. Behold, I have heard that there is 
(J) (E) corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and buy 

3 for us from thence ; that we may live, and not die. And 
Joseph's ten brethren went down to bu)^ corn from Egypt. 

4 But Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his 
(J) brethren ; for he said, 'Lest peradveuture mischief 

5 hefall him. And the sons of Israel came to huy among 
those that came : for the famine was in the land of 

6(E) Canaan. "And Joseph was the governor over the land ; 
(J) he it was that 'sold to all the people of the land : 
(E) and Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down them- 

7 (J) selves to him with their faces to the earth. And 
Joseph saw his brethren, and he knew them, hut 
(E) made himself strange unto them, — 'and spake 
(J) roughly with them ;— and he said unto them, 
Whence come ye? And they said. From the land of 

'v. 38; 44:29. '^^i-.^o. 341:56. ^V. 30 ; I. Sam. 20 : 10. 

* The latter part of ch. xli. is admitted by all critics to present a problem for the 
analysis almost impossible of exact solution. Points of general assent are: ist. 
That the groundword of the chapter, especially in the first part relating the 
dreams, is E's. 2d. That this narrative of E has been filled out, especially in the 
latter part, with material from J. 3d. The presence of P in vs. 46a at least. In sup- 
port of this view differences are pointed out, consisting mainly in the supplying of 
new descriptive terms, in the first and second relation of the dreams ; and redun- 
dancies and reduplications in 3of, 33-36, 48f, 54-57- Regarding " Poti-pherah " as a 
variant of " Potiphar " and xlvii. 13-26 (J) as exhibiting a contrast in feeling toward 
the distress of the famine-stricken people, to xlv. 5* (E). the author submits again 
an independent analysis, referring as before to Hebraica VII. 4 (1891). 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 199 

(E) Canaan to buy food. And Joseph knew his brethren, 8 
but they knew not him. And Joseph remembered ^the 9 
dreams which he dreamed of them,* and said unto them, 
*Ye are spies ; to see the nakedness of the land ye are 
come. And they said unto him. Nay, my lord, but to buy 10 
food are thy servants come. We are all one man's sons ; 1 1 
we are true men, thy servants are no spies. And he said 12 
unto them. Nay, but to see the nakedness of the land ye 
are come. And they said, We thy servants are twelve 13 
brethren, the sons of one man in the land of Canaan ; and, 
behold, the youngest is this day with our father, 'and one 
is not. And Joseph said unto them. That is it that I spake 
unto you, saying. Ye are spies : hereby ye shall be proved : 
by the life of Pharaoh ye shall not go forth hence, except 15 
your youngest brother come hither. Send one of you, and 16 
let him fetch your brother, and ye shall be bound, that 
your words may be proved, whether there be truth in you : 
or else by the life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. ^ And 1 7 
he put them all together into ward three days. And 18 
Joseph said unto them the third day, This do, and live ; for 
I fear God : if ye be true men, let one of your brethren be 19 
bound in your prison house ; but go ye, carry com for 
the famine of your houses : and bring your youngest 20 
brother unto me ; so shall your words be verified, and ye 
shall not die. And they did so. And they said one to 2 1 
another. We are verily guilty concerning our brother, in 
that we saw the distress of his soul, when he besought us, 
and we would not hear ; therefore is this distress come up- 
on us. And Reuben answered them, saying, ^spake I not 22 
unto you, saying. Do not sin against child ; and ye would 
not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required. 
And they knew not that Joseph understood them ; for 23 
there was an interpreter between them. And he turned 24 
himself about from them, and wept ; and he returned to 

^37:5-11. «Vv. 29-34. Ct. 43 : 5-7. '37:30. 840:3. S37:22f. 

♦Insert here the misplaced clause, "and he spake roughly with them," vs. 7. 
According to the analysis the "roughness" appears only in E. Cf. xliii. 7 ; xliv. 
igff (J) with xlii. 30 (E). 



200 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among 

25 them, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph 
commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore 
every man's money into his sack, and to give them "pro- 
visions for the way : and thus was it done unto them. 

26 And they laded their asses with their corn, and departed 

27 (J) thence. "And as one of tliem opened liis sack to 
give liis ass provender in ''the lodging place^ he espied 
his money ; and, hehold, it was in the month of his 

28 sack. And he said nnto his brethren. My money is 
restored; and, lo, it is even in my sack: and their 
(E) heart failed them, [ . - . ] — and they turned trem- 
bling one to another, saying, What is this that God hath 

29 done unto us ? — And they came unto Jacob their father 
unto the land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen 

30 them ; saying, "The man, the lord of the land, spake rough- 

31 ly with us, and took us for spies of the country. And we 

32 said unto him, We are true men ; we are no spies : we be 
twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not, and the 
youngest is this day with our father in the land of Canaan. 

33 And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us. Hereby 
shall I know that ye are true men ; leave one of your 
brethren with me, and take [corn for] the famine of your 

34 houses, and go your way : and bring your youngest bro- 
ther unto me : then shall I know that ye are no spies, but 
that ye are true men : so will I deliver you your brother, 

35 and ye shall traffick in the land. "And it came to pass as 
they emptied their sacks, that, behold, every man's bundle 
of money was in his sack : and when they and their father 

36 saw their bundles of money, they were afraid.* And Jacob 

1045:21. "43:21. Ct. V. 35. i2Ex.4:24. i3vv. 8ff. "Ct. V. 27; 43:21. 

*If E's, verse 28^ must be inserted after vs. 35, on the ground that the surprise 
and fear depicted in vs. 35 (E) presuppose that the discovery is then a genuine dis- 
covery, y^r the fi7-st thne, of the restored money; and not one already made "at 
the lodging place." On the samd ground 27, 28a are considered the remains of J's 
narrative which is reiterated in xliii. 21. The difficulties which exegetically will be 
explained in various ways are accounted for by the analysis as due to the attempt 
of J E to preserve as much as possible of two divergent narratives. These difficul- 
ties are not inerely that xliii. 21 taken in connection with 27f and compared with vs. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 201 

their father said unto them, Me have ye bereaved of my 
children : Joseph is not, and Simeon is not, and ye will 
take Benjamin away : all these things are against me. 
'^And Reuben spake unto his father, saying. Slay my two 37 
sons, if I bring him not to thee : deliver him into my hand, 
(J) and I will bring him to thee again. — And he said, My 38 
son shall not go down with yon; for his brother is 
dead, and he only is left : if mischief befall him by 
the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring down 
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave.* — 

And the famine was 'sore in the land. And it came 43 
to pass, when they had eaten up the corn which they 2 
had brought out of Egypt, their father said unto 
them, Go again, buy us a little food. And Judah 3 
spake unto him, saying, 'The man did solemnly pro- 
test unto us, saying. Ye shall not see my face ex- 
cept your brother be with you. If thou wilt send 4 
our brother with us, we will go down and buy thee 
food : but if thou wilt not send him, we will not go 5 
down : for the man said unto us, Ye shall not see my 
face, except your brother be with you. And 'Israel 6 

^'Ct. 43:8ff. '12 : 10 ; 47 : 4, 13. ''44:20-24. ^32 : 28, etc. 
35 compels us to assume a double discovery and a double surprise. If verses 25-35 
are to be read as they stand, we must assume— ist, that after one brother had an- 
nounced the discovery of his money the others restrained all curiosity to open their 
sacks until arrived at home ; 2d, that only one ass had provender, while the other 
nine went hungry. Observe per cotitra that in vs. 25 (E) Joseph "gave them pro- 
vision for the way," which made the opening of the sacks needless. Correspond- 
ingly in verses 25 and 35 (E) the money is put " into the sack " to be discovered 
when they are "emptied " (35), whereas in vs. 27 ; xliii. 12, 21 ; xliv. i, 8 (J), it is put 
" in the motif h of the sack " with the apparent intention that it shall be discovered 
at the first opening. — In 27a " sack " (Heb. saq) is regarded as a substitution by R 
of E's word for J's {amtachathy ijb, 28 ; xliii. 12, 21-23 ; ^liv. 1-8). 

* Critics discover the original answer to Reuben's offer in xlviii. 14. From their 
point of view it could not be otherwise than affirmative, because Simeon is waiting 
in prison in Egypt for release at the appearance of Benjamin. The transposition of 
this verse from an original position after xliii. 7, and removal of the original affir- 
mative answer xlii. 14 (E) enables JE to introduce both accounts of the offering of 
suretyship by Reuben (xlii. 37, E) and by Judah (xliii. 8f, J). This process also per- 
mitted the postponement of the return to Egypt, and the introduction of xliii. ii¥ (J) 
where in accordance with the account (xliii. 7 ; xliv. 19-23, J) of the friendly reception 
of the brothers (no imprisonment of Simeon) they quietly wait in Canaan till the 
exhaustion of their store of food. 



302 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

said. Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell the 

7 man whether ye had yet a brother ? And they said. 
The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and 
concerning our kindred, saying, Is your father yet 
alive? have ye [another] brother? and we told him 
according to the tenor of these words : could we in 
any wise know that he would say. Bring your brother 

8 down? 'And Judah said unto Israel his father. Send 
the lad with me, and we will arise and go ; that we 
may live, and not die, both we, and thou, and also 

9 our little ones. I will be surety for him ; of my hand 
Shalt thou require him : if I bring him not unto tliee, 
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame 

10 for ever : for except we had lingered, surely we had 

1 1 now returned a second time. And their father Israel 
said unto them. If it be so now, do this ; take of the 
choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and carry 
down the man a present, a little balm, and a little 

12 honey, spicery and myrrh, nuts, and almonds: and 
take double money in your hand ; and the money that 
was 'returned in the mouth of your sacks carry again 

13 in your hand ; per ad venture it was an oversight : take 
also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man : 

14 (E) and ^God Almighty give you mercy before the man, 
that he may release unto yoti your other brother and Ben- 
jamin. 'And if I be bereaved of my children, I am be- 
reaved. [ . . . ] 

15 (J) And the men took that present, and they took 
double money in their hand, and Benjamin ; and rose 
up, and went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. 

16 And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said 
to 'the steward of his house, Bring the men into the 
house, and slay, and make ready ; for the men shall 

17 dine with me at noon. And the man did as Joseph 
bade ; and the man brought the men into Joseph's 

18 house. And the men were afraid, because they were 

^Ct. 42:37. 5^2:27.01.42:35. «Ex. 3:13. '42:36. 839:4. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 203 

l)roiight into Joseph's house ; and they said. Because 
of the money that was returned in our sacks at the 
iirst time are we brought in ; that he may seek occa- 
sion against us, and fall upon us, and take us for bond- 
men, and our asses. And they came near to the 19 
steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto him 
at the door of the house, and said. Oh my lord, we 20 
came indeed down at the first time to buy food : 'and 21 
it came to pass, when we came to the lodging place, 
that we opened our sacks, and, behold, CTery man's 
money was in the mouth of his sack, our money in 
full weight : and we have brought it again in our 
hand. And other money have we brought down in 22 
our hand to buy food : we know .not who put our 
money in our sacks. And he said. Peace be to you, 23 
fear not : your Ood, and the God of your father, hath 
given you treasure in your sacks : I had your money. 
(E) (J) "And he brought Simeon out unto them. And 24 
the man brought the men into Joseph's house, and 
gave them water, and they washed their feet ; and he 
"gave their asses provender. And they made ready 25 
the present against Joseph came at noon: for they 
heard that they should eat bread there. And when 26 
Joseph came home, they brought him the present 
which was in their hand into the house, and bowed 
down themselves to him to the earth. "And he asked 27 
them of their welfare, and said. Is your father well, 
the old man of whom ye spake? Is he yet alive % And 28 
they said. Thy servant our father is well, he is yet 
alive. "And they bowed the head, and made obeisance. 
And he lifted up his eyes, and saw Benjamin his bro- 29 
ther, his mother's son, and said. Is this your young- 
est brother, of whom ye spake unto me? And he 
said, Ood be gracious unto thee, "my son. And Jo- 30 
seph made haste ; for his bowels did yearn upon his 

^42:27; Ex. 4:24. 1042:24. 1124:32; 42:27. I2v. 7. Ct. 45:3. 1824:26,48. i^35:i7f. 

Ct. 46:21. 



204 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

brother : and he sought where to weep; and he entered 

31 into his chamber, and wept there. And he washed 
his face, and came out ; and he refrained himself, and 

32 said. Set on bread. And they set on for him by him- 
self, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyp- 
tians, which did eat with him, by themselves : 'be- 
cause the Egyptians might not eat bread with the 
Hebrews ; for that is an abomination unto the Egyp- 

zz tians. And they sat before him, the first-born ac- 
cording to his birthright, and the youngest according 
to his youth : and the men marvelled one with an- 

34 other. And he took [and sent] messes unto them from 
before him : but Benjamin's mess was five times so 
much as any of theirs. And they drank, and "were 
merry with him. 

M And he commanded the steward of his house, say- 
ing. Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they 
can carry, and put every man's money 'in his sack's 

2 mouth. And put my cup, the silver cup, 'in the 
sack's mouth of the youngest, and his corn money. 
And he did according to the word that Joseph had 

3 spoken. As soon as the morning was light, the men 

4 were sent away, they and their asses. [And] when 
they were gone out of the city, and were not yet 
far off, Joseph said unto his steward. Up, follow 
after the men ; and when thou dost overtake them, 
say unto them. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil for 

5 good?* Is not this it in which my lord drinketh, and 
whereby he indeed 'divineth? ye have done evil in so 

6 doing. And he overtook them, and he spake unto 

7 them these words. And they said unto him. Where- 
fore speaketh my lord such words as these? God 
forbid that thy servants should do such a thing. 

8 Behold, the money, which we found 'in our sacks' 
mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the land 

1546:34. i«9:2i. I42 :27; 43:12, 21. Ct. 42 :3s. 230:27; v. 15. 

* LXX., Syr., and Vulg. supply " Why have ye stolen my silver cup ?" 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 205 

of Canaan : how then should we steal out of thy lord's 
house silver or gold ? With whomsoever of thy ser- 9 
vants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my 
lord's bondmen. And he said. Now also let it be 'ac- 10 
cording unto your words : he with whom it is found 
shall be my bondman: and ye shall be blameless. 
Then they hasted, and took down every man his sack n 
to the ground, and opened every man his sack. And 12 
he searched, [and] began at the eldest, and left at the 
youngest : and the cup was found in Benjamin's sack. 
Then they rent their clothes, and laded every man 13 
his ass, and returned to the city. And Judali and his 14 
brethren came to Joseph's house ; and he was yet 
there : and they fell before him on the ground. And 15 
Joseph said unto them. What deed is this that ye have 
done? know ye not that such a man as I can indeed di- 
vine? And Judah* said. What shall we say unto my 16 
lord? what shall we speak? or how shall we clear our- 
selves ?t God hath found out the iniquity of thy ser- 
vants : behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, 
and he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he 17 
said, Crod forbid that I should do so : the man in whose 
hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman ; but 
as for you, get you up in peace unto your father. 

Then Judah came near unto him, and said. Oh my 18 
lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my 
lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy 
servant : for thou art even as Pharaoh. 'My lord 19 
asked his servants, saying. Have ye a father, or a bro- 
ther? And we said unto my lord, We have a father, 20 
an old man, and a 'child of his old age, a little one ; 
and his brother is dead, and he alone is left of his 
mother, and his father loveth him. And thou saidst 21 
unto thy servants. Bring him down unto me, that I 

230 : S4. 343 : 7. Ct. ch. 42. 437 . 3. 
* Perhaps better, " they said." Cf. vs. 18 and vs. 7. 

t Sam. and LXX. insert " since."— For the use of Elohim throughout this J chapter 
cf. note to Gen. iii. t. 



206 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

2 2 may set mine eyes upon him. And 'we said unto my 
lord, The lad cannot leave his father : for if he should 

27, leave his father, his father would die. And thou 
saidst unto thy servants. Except your youngest bro- 
ther come down with you, ye shall see my face no more. 

24 And it came to pass when we came up unto thy servant 

25 my father, we told him the words of my lord. 'And 

26 our father said, Go again, huy us a little food. And we 
said. We cannot go down : if our youngest brother be 
with us, then will we go down : for we may not see the 
man's face, except our youngest brother be with us. 

27 And thy servant my father said unto us. Ye know that 

28 my wife bare me two sons : and the one went out from 
me, 'and I said. Surely he is torn in pieces ; and I 

29 have not seen him since : 'and if ye take this one also 
from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down 

30 my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now there- 
fore when I come to thy servant my father, and the 
lad be not with us ; seeing that his life is bound up in 

31 the lad's life; it shall come to pass, when he seeth 
that the lad is not [with us], that he will die : and thy 
servants shall bring down the gray hairs of thy ser- 

32 vant our father with sorrow to the grave. Tor thy 
servant became surety for the lad unto my father, 
saying. If I bring him not unto thee, then shall I bear 

zz the blame to my father for ever. Now therefore, let 
thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead of the lad a 
bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up with his 

34 brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, and 
the lad be not with me? lest I see the evil that shall 
come on my father. 

45 Then* Joseph could not 'refrain himself before all 
them that stood by him ; and he cried. Cause every 

501.42:13,20,33. «43 : 2f . Ct. 42 : 36f . '37:33d. 842:38. '43: 9. ^3:31- 
* See Hehraica VII. 4 (1891) for the evidence in support of the present analysis, 
divergent, in verses 9-14, in some degree from accepted theories. Cf. also my 
article " JE in the Middle Books of the 'Penta.tench," /ourna/ of Bt'dl. Lit., 1890, Part 

II., p. I92f. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 307 

(E) man to go out from me. And there stood no man 
with him, while Joseph '^made himself known unto his 
(J) (E) brethren. And he wept aloud : and the Egyp- 2 
(J) tians heard, 'and the house of Pharaoh heard. 
(E) And Joseph said unto his brethren, I am Joseph, 3 
Moth my father yet live ?* And his brethren could not 
answer him ; for they were troubled at his presence. 
(J) And Joseph said unto his brethren. Come near to 4 
me, I pray you. And they came near. And he said, 
I am Joseph your brother, whom 'ye sold into Egypt. 
(E) And now he not 'grieved, nor angry with yourselves, 5 
(J) (E) that 'ye sold me hither :[...] 'for God did 
send me before you to preserve life. For these two years 6 
hath the famine been in the land : and there are yet five 
years, in the which there shall be neither plowing nor 
harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve you a 7 
remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great de- 
liverance. So now it was not you that sent me hither, but 8 
God : and he hath made me a father to Pharaoh, and *lord 
of all his house, and ruler over all the land of Egypt. 
Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say unto him. Thus 9 
saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me lord of all 
(J) Egypt : come down unto me, tarry not : — and "thou 10 
Shalt dwell in the land of Goshen, and thou shalt he 
near unto me, thou, and thy children, and thy child- 
ren's children, and "thy flocks, and thy herds, and 
(E) all that thou hast : — and there will I "nourish thee ; 11 
for there are yet five years of famine ; lest thou come to 
poverty, thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast. 
And, behold, your eyes see, and the eyes of my brother 12 
Benjamin, that it is my mouth that speaketh unto you. 

^Num. 12:6. set. V. 16. ^Ct. 43 : 27 ; 44 : 19-34. 837 .^^f. ct. 40: 15. 66 :6 ; 34 .-7 ; Ex. 
1:12. '50:20. *4i:4o£. '46:28,34. 1146:32. Ct. V. 20. 1I47 : 12 ; 50:21. 

*The question, vs. 3a, presupposes seemingly quite a different kind of interview 
from that detailed in ch. xliii., especially in xliii. 27, 28, and in xliv. 18-34 where 
Israel is constantly spoken of. If the documentary theory be followed, the natural 
inference from this verse would be that the interview in E was brief, and of the 
unfriendly character described in xlii. 9-20, 30-34 ; at least not affording Joseph in- 
formation in regard to his father. 



208 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

T3 (J) And ye shall tell my father of all my glory in 
Egypt, and of all that ye have seen; and ye shall 

14 haste and hring down my father hither. ''And he fell 
upon his brother Benjamin's neck, and wept; and 

15 (E) Benjamin wept npon his neck. [ . . ] And he 
kissed all his brethren, and wept upon them : and after 
that his brethren talked with him. 

16 "And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, 
saying, Joseph's brethren are come : and it pleased Pha- 

17 raoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto Jo- 
seph, Say unto thy brethren. This do ye ; lade your beasts, 

18 and go, get you unto the land of Canaan ; and take your 
father and your households, and come unto me : and I will 
give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat 

19 ( JE) the fat of the land. Now thou art commanded, this do ye ; 
take you wagons out of the land of Egypt for your little ones, and for 

20 your wives, and bring your father, and come. Also regard not your 

2 1 stuff ; for the good of all the land of Egypt is yours. "And the sons of 
(E) (JE) Israel did so : and Joseph gave them wagons, according 
(E) to the commandment of Pharaoh,* and gave them ''provision 

22 for the way. To all of them he gave each man changes of 
raiment ; but to Benjamin he gave three hundred pieces 

23 of silver, and five changes of raiment. And to his father 
he sent after this manner ; ten asses laden with the good 
things of Egypt, and ten she-asses laden with corn and 

24 bread and victual for his father by the way. So he sent 
his brethren away, and they departed : and he said unto 

25 them, See that ye fall not out by the way.f And they 

1233:4; 46:29. isCt. V. 2. i-iCt. V. 24. 15^2:25. 

* Supplementary redaction. For the verb translated "thou art commanded," a 
singular which does not agree with the plural verbs before and after, we might 
read with Dillmann " command them," but the Sam. and LXX. text, the linguistic 
marks and the prolepsis of ■zia lead the critics to consider the passage one of the 
cases of heightening or retouching of the colors, by R, who is supposed to have ex- 
hibited the interest taken by Pharaoh by introducing, or at least materially modify- 
ing, vv. 19-21 (except ■zib and d), and of course also xlvi. ^b. 

t If the revisers are right in their translation of 246, the sense must be a warning 
against mutual reproaches for the treatment of Joseph. Of. xlii. 22. But perhaps a 
better sense might be obtainable if we knew what E related in regard to the 
second visit to Egypt. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 309 

went up out of Egypt, and came into the land of Canaan 
unto Jacob their father. And they told him, saying, 26 
Joseph is yet alive, and he is ruler over all the land of 
Egypt. And his heart fainted, for he believed them not. 
And they told him '^all the words of Joseph, which he had 27 
said unto them : and when he saw "the wagons which 
Joseph had sent to carry him, the spirit of Jacob their 
(J) father revived : and Israel said, "It is enough ; 28 
Joseph my son is yet alive: I will go and see him 
before I die. 

And Israel took his journey with all that he had, 16 
(E) and came to Beer-sheba, and 'offered sacrifices unto 
the God of his father Isaac. And God spake unto Israel 2 
°in the visions of the night, and said, 'Jacob, Jacob. And 
he said. Here am I. And he said, I am God, the God of 3 
thy father : fear not to go down into Egypt ; for I will ' 
there make of thee a great nation : for I will go down with 4 
thee into Egypt ; and "I will also surely bring thee up 
again : and Joseph shall put his hand upon thine eyes. 
(JE) And Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba : ^and the sons of 5 
Israel carried Jacob their father, and their little ones, and their 
wives, in the wagons which Pharaoh had sent to carry him. 
(P) ^ And they took their cattle, and their goods, which they had 6 
gotten in the land of Canaan, and ca?ne into Egypt, Jacob, and 
all his seed with him : his sons, and his sons' sofis with him, his 7 
daughters, and his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he 
with him into Egypt.''' 

(R)'' And these are the names of the chzldreji of Israel, which 8 
came into Egypt, Jacob and his sons; Reuben, Jacob's firstborn. 
And the satis of Reuben ; Hanoch, and Pallu, and Hezron, and 9 
Carnii. And the sons of Simeon ; Jeniuel, and famin, and Ohad, 10 
and Jachin, and Zohar, and Shaul the son of a Canaaftztish 
woman. And the sons of Levi ; Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. 11 

i^V. II. "v. 21. 1*46:30. '31:54. ^^15 : 1 ; 20 :3, etc. ^22 : i, 7, etc. ''15:16. ^46 : igff. 
«i2 : 5 ; 31 : 18 ; 36 : 6. 'Ex. i : iff ; 6 : 14!?. C£. 25 : 13 ; 36 : 10. 

* The work of R is traced in the change of Jacob to " Israel," xlvi. 2 (cf. latter 
part of the verse), and in vs. ^b corresponding to xlv. igf. If, as Dillman thinks, 
vs. 5 refers to the removal of Jacob from his home, the clause, " and came to Beer- 
sheba," vs. I, must also be due to R. In xxxv. 1 (" dwell there "), however, it seems 
to be implied that Bethel was Jacob's home. Cf. xxxvii. i5fE. 
14 



310 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

12 And the sons of Judah ; Er, and Onan, and Shelah, and Perez, 
and Zerah ; but Er and Onajt died in tlie laitd of Canaan. And the sons 

13 of Perez were Hezron and Hamul. And the sons of Issachar ; 

14 Tola, and Puvah, and lob, and Shiniron. And the sons of Zebu- 

15 lun ; Sered, a7td Eton, and Jahleel. These are the sons of Leah, 
which she bare unto Jacob in Paddajt-aram, with his daughter Dinah : 

16 all the souls of his sons and his datcghters were thirty and three. And 
the sons of Gad: Ziphion, and Haggi, Shuni, and Ezbon, Eri, 

17 and Arodi, and Are li. And the sons of As her ; Imnah, and Ish- 
vah, and Ishvi, and Beriah, and Serah their sister : and the sons 

18 of Beriah ; Heber, a7td Malchiel. These are the sons of Zilpah, 
which Laban gave to Leah his daughter, and these she bare unto 

iq Jacob, even sixteen souls. The sons of Rachel Jacob's wife; 

20 Joseph and Benjamin. And unto Joseph in the land of Egypt 
were born Manas seh and Ephraim, which Asenath the daughter 

11 of Poti-phera priest of Oji bare unto him. And the sons of Benja- 
min ; Beta, and Becher, and Ashbel, Gera, and Naaman, Ehi, 

22 and Rosh, Muppim, and Huppim, and Ard. These are the sons of 

23 Rachel, which were born* to Jacob : all the souls were fourteen. 

24 And the sons of Dan ; Hushim. And the sons of Naphtali ; Jah- 

25 zeel, and Guni, and Jezer, and Shilletn. These are the sons of 
Bilhah, which Laban gave unto Rachel his daughter, and these 

26 she bare unto Jacob: all the souls were seven. All the souls 
that came with Jacob into Egypt, which came out of his loins, 
besides Jacob's sons' wives, all the souls were threescore and six ; 

11 and the sons of Joseph, which were born to him in Egypt, were 
two souls : all the souls of the house of Jacob, which came into 
Egypt, were ^threescore and ten.\ 

28 And he sent 'Judah before him unto Joseph, to 
shew the way hefore himt unto "Groshen; and they 

29 came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph "made 
ready liis chariot, and went up to meet Israel his 
father, to Groshen; and he presented himself unto 
him, "and fell on his neck, and wept on his neck a 

8Ex. 1:5. 937:26; 43:3, 8; 44:14, 18. 1045:10. "50:9. 1233:4. 45. i^_ 

* LXX. Sam. " she bare." Cf . vs. 15. 

t According to most critics a late genealogical table not in agreement with P. 
Ex. i. 5 (cf. vs. 27) and vi. i4ff. Dillmann holds that in order to balance the insertion 
of 12^, Jacob and Dinah are also counted in by R, contrary to the original intention 
of the table. (Cf. 15^ with vv. 23 and 25.) 

\ No good sense is obtainable from this clause. If Judah was sent to Joseph he 
could not have gone "to show the way " which was besides needless. Probably the 
original sense was "to report his coming." Cf. vs. 29. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 211 

good while. And Israel said unto Joseph, "Now let 30 
me die, since I have seen thy face, that thou art yet 
aliye. And Joseph said unto his brethren, and unto 31 
his father's house, I will go up, and "tell Pharaoh, 
and will say unto him. My brethren, and my father's 
house, which were in the land of Canaan, are come 
unto me ; and the men are shepherds, for they have been 32 
keepers of cattle;* and "they have brought their flocks, 
and their herds, and all that they have. And it shall zz 
come to pass, when Pharaoh shall call you, and shall 
say. What is your occupation? that ye shall say. Thy 34 
servants have been keepers of cattle from our youth 
even until now, "both we and our fathers: that ye 
may dwell in the land of Goshen ; ''for every shepherd 
is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 

Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said, 47 
My father and my brethren, and their flocks, and their 
herds, and all that they have, are come out of the 
land of Canaan; and, behold, they are in the land of 
Goshen. 'And from among his brethren he took 2 
five men, and presented them unto Pharaoh. And 3 
Pharaoh said unto his brethren. What is your occupa- 
tion ? And they said unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are 
shepherds, both we, and our fathers. And they said unto 4 
Pharaoh,t To sojouru in the laud are we come ; for there 
is no pasture for thy servants' flocks ; for the famine 
is sore in the land of Canaan : now therefore, we pray 
thee, let thy servants dwell 'in the land of Goshen. 

(P) And Pharaoh spake tmto Joseph, saying, ^ Thy father and 5 
thy brethren are come tmto thee : the land of Egypt is before thee ; 6 
in the best of the land make thy father and thy brethren to dwell ; 

(J) in the land of Goshen let them dwell : and if thou 
knowest any able men among them, then make them 

"45:28. "Ct.4s:i6ff. "45:10. 16^:2. "43:32. ^Ct. v. 7 ; 46 :3iff. ^'45 : 10 ; 46 : 24. 
set. 46:31. 

* Translate " for they were keepers of cattle." According to Kautzsch and Socin, 
a gloss intended to justify vs. 34. 

t Dittograph from vs. 3. 



313 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

7 (P) rulers oyer my cattle.* And Joseph brought in Jacob 
his father, and set him before Pharaoh : and Jacob blessed Pha- 

8 raoh. And Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How many are the days 

9 of the years of thy life? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, *The 
days of the years of my pilgrimage are an hundred and thirty 
years : few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, 
and they have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of 

10 my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage. And Jacob blessed 

1 1 Pharaoh, and ivent out from the presence of Pharaoh. And 
Joseph placed his father and his brethren, and gave them a pos- 
session in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of 

12 (E) Rameses, as Pharaoh had co7nmanded. [ . . . ] And 
Joseph ^nourished his father, and his brethren, and all his 
father's household, with bread, according to their families. 

13 (J) —'And there was no bread in all the land ; for 
the famine was Tery sore, so that the land of Egypt 
and the land of Canaan fainted by reason of the fam- 

^25:7. =45:11 ; 50:21. ''■4i:55ff. '12:10; 41:31; 43:1 ; V. 4. 

* The documentary analysis furnishes in this passage an extraordinary proof of 
Ae superiority here of the LXX. text, and is in turn most singularly corroborated 
by it. Employing the distinctive type of our text, the translation and order of xlvii. 
sf (LXX.) are as follows : 

J 5. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Let them dwell 
in the land of Goshen, and if thou knowest any ahle men 
among them, make them rulers over my cattle. 

P 6. And Jacob and his sons came into Egypt to Joseph j and 
Pharaoh king of Egypt heard of it. And Pharaoh spake unto 
Joseph, saying. Thy father and thy brethren are come unto thee j be' 
hold, the land of Egypt is before thee j in the best of the land make thy 
father and thy brethren to dwell. 

If the explanation of this remarkable phenomenon which the analysis suggests 
be adopted, the conclusion is no less radical than unavoidable. The process of ad- 
justment of P to JE had not ceased at the time of the LXX. translation. The order 
of clauses has been altered, the clause " And Pharaoh said unto Joseph," at the be- 
ginning of vs. 5, essential as it is to the sense of J, and the longer passage, "And 
Jacob and his sons came into Egypt to Joseph, and Pharaoh king of Egypt heard 
it," at the beginning of vs. 6, which completes P's story, have been omitted from 
the text since the period of the LXX. ; apparently because of the contradiction in- 
volved ; for the supposition that this contradiction was introduced by the LXX. is 
incredible. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 213 

ine. And Joseph gathered up all the money that was 14 
found in the laud of Egypt, and in the land of Canaan, 
for the corn which they bought : and Joseph brought 
the money into 'Pharaoh's house. And when the 15 
money was all spent in the land of Egypt, and in the 
land of Canaan, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, 
and said, Give us bread : for why should we die in thy 
presence? for [our] money faileth. And Joseph said, 16 
Give your cattle ; and I will give you for your cattle, 
if money fail. And they brought their cattle unto 17 
Joseph : And Joseph gave them bread in exchange for 
the horses, and for the 'flocks, and for the herds, and 
for the asses: and he '"fed them with bread in ex- 
change for all their cattle for that year. And when 18 
that year was ended, they came unto him the second 
year, and said unto him, We will not hide from my 
lord, how that our money is all spent ; and the herds of 
cattle are my lord's ; there is nought left in the sight 
of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands : wherefore 19 
should we die before thine eyes, "both we and our 
land? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our 
land will be servants unto Pharaoh : and give us seed, 
that we may live, and not die, and that the land be 
not desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt 20 
for Pharaoh ; for the Egyptians sold every man his 
field, because the famine was ''sore upon them : and 
the land became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, 2 1 
he removed them "to the cities from one end of the 
border of Egypt even to the other end thereof. Only 22 
the land of "the priests bought he not : for the priests 
had a portion from Pharaoh, and did eat their por- 
tion which Pharaoh gave them ; wherefore they sold 
not their land. Then Joseph said unto the people, 23 
Behold, I have bought you this day and your land 
for Pharaoh : lo, here is seed for you, and ye shall 
sow the land. And it shall come to pass at the in- 24 

845:2. »26:i4. i''33:i4. ''46:34. '^^i :56. Ct. v. 13. "^1:35. 1*41 : 45 ; Ex. 2 : i6ff. 



314 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

gatherings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, 
and four ''parts shall be your own, for seed of the 
field, and for your food, and for them of your house- 

25 holds, and for food for your little ones. And they 
said, Thou hast saved our lives : let us "find grace in 
the sight of my lord, and we will he Pharaoh's serv- 

26 ants. And Joseph made it a statute concerning the 
land of Egypt unto this day, that Pharaoh should 
have 'the fifth ; only the land of the priests alone be- 

27 (P) came not Pharaoh's.* — And Israel dwelt in the 
land of Egypt, in the land of Goshen ; "-^and they gat them 
possessions therein, and ^^were fruitful, and multiplied exceed- 
ingly. 

28 And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt "^^ seventeen years ; '^"so the 
days of Jacob, the years of his life, were an hundred forty and seven 

29 (J) years. And the time drew near that Israel must 
die : and he called his son Joseph, and said unto him, 
"If now I have found grace in thy sight, "put, I pray 
thee, thy hand under my thigh, and ''deal kindly and 

30 truly with me ; bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : 
but when I sleep with my fathers, thou shalt carry 

me out of Egypt, '^^and bury me m their burymgplace. Aud 

31 he said, I will do as thou hast said. And he said. 
Swear unto me : and he sware unto him. "And Israel 
bowed himself upon the bed's head. 

48 (E) 'And it came to pass after these things that one said 

to Joseph, ''Behold, thy father is sick : and he took with 

2 him 'his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told 

Jacob, and said, Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee ; 

1643:34. i«6:6, etc. "41:34. '8^^11.32:30; Jos. 22:9, 19. iSi:22, etc. ^oy. g- 
216:6, etc. 2224:2. 2324:49; 32:11. 2150:5. 26^8:2. 115:1; 22:1, etc. 201.47:29. 
341 : soff. 

* The passage xlvii. 13-26 is generally supposed to be misplaced, and to have been 
removed from after xli. 56. With this idea the " second year " of vs. 18, compared 
with the " yet five years of famine " of xlv. 11, would agree very well. However, 
two years seems a short time for the events of vv. 13-26, and the passage need not 
necessarily be removed. Portions of E are held by some critics to be discoverable 
in xlvii. 13-26, though no cogent reasons are offered, and on the other hand, several 
new make-weights for J may be added to those noted by Dillmannand others. See 
Hebraica VII. 4 (1891). 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 315 

(J) and ^Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon 

(P) the bed. — And Jacob said unto Joseph, ^God Almighty 3 
appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, atid blessed me, 
and said unto me. Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply 4 
thee, and I will make of thee a company of peoples j and will give 
this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting possession. 
^And now thy two sons, which were born unto thee in the la?td of 5 
Egypt before I came unto thee itito Egypt, are mine ; Ephraim 
and Manasseh, even as Reubeti and Simeon, shall be inine. And 6 
thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thijie j they 
shall be called after the name of their brethren in their inheri- 
(R) tance. — '^And as for me, when I came from Paddan, 7 
Rachel died by me in the land of Canaan in the way, when there 
was still some way to come tinto Ephrath: and I buried her there 
(J) in the way to Ephrath {the same is Beth-lehetn).* — And 8 

(E) Israel heheld Joseph's sons, and said, 'Who are 
these ? And Joseph said unto his father, They are my 9 
(J) sons, whom God hath given me here. And he said. 
Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless 
them. 'Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so to 
(E) that he could not see. And he brought them near 
unto him : and he kissed them, and embraced them. And 1 1 
Israel said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face : 

*47:3i; 49:33. Ct. V. 2a. ^jgjgff. 6jos. 14:4 ; 17 : i4ff. '35 : i6ff. 833:5. 827 : i, 2if. 

* This verse 7, so awkwardly placed, is conjectured by Budde (Ztschi'.f. A. T. W. 
III., 1883) to be a substitute of R for the words, " and Rachel," omitted for harmon- 
istic reasons at the end of xlix. 31. The verse is generally assigned to R upon the 
basis of XXXV. 19, and the conjecture that it is a harmonistie modification of P's 
original thought, according to which the whole patriarchal family were interred 
together in the cave of Machpelah, to conform to E (xxxv. ig), seems very plausible ; 
Bruston iSbid., 1887, p. 2o6ff) suggests that vs. 7 was taken by R from after xlvii. 29 
and recast, and in fact the reference of 1. 5 seems to indicate an alteration there. 
On the other hand, xlix. 29-32 seems to fail of completeness without this "and 
Rachel," while Josh. xxiv. 32, compared with Gen. xxxiii. 19 and 1. 5, and the 
singular reference. Acts vii. 16, suggests to the critic that P may have taken his 
account from E's similar story and located it quite differently. The inappropriate 
position now occupied by vv. 3-7, especially apparent in the case of vs. 7, is perhaps 
to be corrected by transposing this passage to a place after xlix. 28 as its original 
one. P's story would then read in the following order, xlix. i, first clause, 28 (from 
"and blessed them "), slviii. 3-6. The singular, "and as for me," of xlviii. 7 may 
perhaps have been taken from xlix. 29, from before " I am to be gathered unto my 
people." 



216 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

12 and, lo, God hath let me "see thy seed also. "And Joseph 
brought them out from between his* knees ; and he bowed 

13 (J) himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took 
them hoth, Ephraim in his right hand toward Is- 
rael's left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand to- 
ward Israel's right hand, and brought them near 

14 nnto him. And Israel stretched out his right hand, 
and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the 

'younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, 
guiding his hands wittingly ; for Manasseh was the 

15 (E) '"firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said. The 
God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, 
the God which hath fed me all my life long unto this day, 

16 "the angel which hath redeemed me from all evil, bless 
the lads ; and "let my name be named on them, and the 
name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac ; and let them 

17 (J) grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth. And 
when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand 
upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and 
he held up his father's hand, to remove it from 

18 Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head. And Joseph 
said unto his father, Not so, my father % for this is 
the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. 

19 "And his father refused, and said, I know [it] my 
son, I know [it] : he also shall become a people, and 
he also shall be great : howbeit his younger brother 
shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a 

20 (E) multitude of nations. And he blessed them that 
day, saying. In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make 
thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh : and he set Ephraim 

21 before Manasseh. '''And Israel said unto Joseph, Behold, 

loCt. V. 10. iiv. isf, 21. Ct. V. 13. i2ig:3iff; 25:23; 29:26; 43:33. Ct. 29 : 16, etc. 
1331: II ; 32 :2f. i'»2i:i2. i^^g-g. 1650:24. 

*I. e. Jacob's. In E Joseph brings his sons to his father that he may "see" 
them, vs. 11. In J Israel is blind, vs. loa, and the boys are brought to be blessed, 
vv. 9^, i3f. In E, after the boys have been presented, Joseph brings them out from 
between his father's knees in order himself to come there and receive the paternal 
blessing. "Israel," vs. 11, is of course to be considered altered from "Jacob" 
under the influence of vs. 10. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 217 

I die : "but God shall be with you, and bring you again 
unto the land of your fathers. Moreover I have given to 22 
thee "one portion* above thy brethren, which I took out 
of the hand of the "*Amorite '"with my sword and with 
my bow. [ . . . ] 

(P) (J) And Jacob called tmto his sons, and Said : Gather 49 
yourselyes together, that I may tell you that which 
shall befall you in the latter days. 
Assemble yourselves, and hear, ye sons of Jacob ; 2 
And hearken unto Israel your father. 
Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and 3 
the beginning of my strength ; 
The excellency! of dignity, and the excellency of 

Xjower. 
Unstable! as water, thou shalt not have the excel- 4 

lency ; 
Because 'thou wentest up to thy father's bed : 
Then deflledst thou it : he went up to my couch. 

Simeon and Levi are brethren ; 5 

Weapons of violence are their swords. 

my soul, come not thou into their council ; 6 
Unto their assembly, my glory, be not thou united ; 
For 'in their anger they slew a man. 

And in their selfwill they houghed an ox. 

Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce ; 7 

And their wrath, for it was cruel : 

1 will divide them in Jacob, 

And scatter them in Israel. 

i'46:4. i8Ch. 34. '815 : 16 ; Jos. 24 : 8. ^oJqs. 24 : 12. 135:22. ^Ch. 34. 

* Read " Shechem," the " portion" of Joseph, i. e. the northern kingdom. A play 
upon words. Kuenen suggests the reading " 7iot with my sword nor with my bow," 
as in Josh. xxiv. 12 (cf. Gen. xxxiii. 19), and accounts for the alteration as harmonis- 
tic, to secure agreement with chapter xxxiv. 

tFor "excellency" read "pre-eminence" (twice). So in vs. 4. This translation 
of the American committee of revisers is certainly to be preferred in vs. 3f. 
Reuben is deprived of the right of the firstborn, " the preeminence," on account of 
his unruly lust, reference to which is also made in xxxv. 22. (See note to that pas- 
sage.) Simeon and Levi, the next in order of age, are likewise passed over on 
account of their deed of cruelty. This brings the preeminence to Judah, vs. 8. 

JFor "Unstable" read " Boiling over " and omit the marg.—^;^z. Covi. 



218 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

8 Judah, 'thee shall thy brethren praise : 

Thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies ; 
Thy father's sons shall bow down before thee. 

9 Judah is a lion's whelp ; 

From the prey, my son, thou art gone up : 
'He stooped down, he couched as a lion. 
And as a lioness ; who shall rouse him up ? 

10 The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, 
Nor the ruler's staff from between his feet. 
Until Shiloh come ; 

And unto him shall the obedience of the peoples be. 

1 1 Binding his foal unto the yine. 

And his ass's colt unto the choice vine ; 
He hath washed his garments in wine ; 
And his vesture in the blood of grapes : 

12 'His eyes shall be red with wine. 
And his teeth white with milk. 

13 Zebulun shall 'dwell at the haven of the sea: 
And he shall be for an haven of ships ; 

And his border shall be upon Zidon. 

14 Issachar is a strong ass. 

Couching down between the sheepfolds : 

15 And he saw a resting place that it was good. 
And the land that it was pleasant ; 

And he bowed his shoulder to bear. 
And became 'a servant under taskwork. 

16 'Dan shall judge his people. 
As one of the tribes of Israel. 

17 Dan shall be a serpent in the way. 
An adder in the path. 

That biteth the horse's heels. 

So that his rider falleth backward. 

18 I have waited for thy salvation, Yahweh. 

19 'Gad, a troop shall press upon him : 
But he shall press upon their heel. 

'29:35. •'Num. 24:9. *9: 21; 43: 34. «3o:2o; 0^33:19. ' Jud. i : 28, 30, etc. 830. g^ 
9Ct. 30:11. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 219 

Out of Asher his bread shall be fat, 20 

And he shall yield royal dainties. 

Naphtali is a hind let loose : 21 

He giveth goodly words.* 

Joseph is a fruitful hough, 22 

A fruitful hough hy a fountain ; 
His branches run over the wall. 
The archers have sorely grieved him, 23 

And shot at him, and persecuted him : 
But his bow abode in strength, 24 

And the arms of his hands were made strong. 
By the hands of the Mighty One of Jacob, 
(From thence is the shepherd, the stone of Israel),t 
Even by the Ood of thy father, who shall help thee, 25 
And by the Almighty, who shall bless thee, 
"With blessings of heaven above. 
Blessings of "the deep that coucheth beneath. 
Blessings of the breasts, and of the womb. 
"The blessings of thy father 26 

Have prevailed above the blessings of my progeni- 
tors 
Unto the utmost bound of the everlasting hills : 

1027:28. 111:217:11. i2Dt. 33:i5f. 

* Translate with Dillmann and others, " Naphtali is a slender terebinth. He 
giveth goodly shoots," with allusion, as in vv. 13 and 17, to the geographical 
shape of Naphtali, long and slender, and to the heroes of this tribe (Jud. iv. 6). The 
change in the reading affects only the vowel points. 

In vs. 20 read "Asher, his," etc., according to margin. "Out of" is simply the 
Hebrew suffix /«, "their," carried over from the preceding word and used as the 
prefix m, "out of," for the following word. Cf. vv. 3, 5, 8, 13, 14, 16, 19, 21, 27. 

The last word of vs. 5, and " Shiloh " of vs. 10, present unsolved problems. Well- 
hausen pronounces vs. 10, from the interruption it causes, to be an interpolation. 

1 1 am indebted to Prof. Geo. F. Moore of Andover, among other kindnesses, for 
the admirable conjecture which by very slight alteration of the text (see Heb. note 
15) affords the following simple rendering of one of the most difficult passages of the 
Pentateuch : 

" But his bow abode in strength. 

And the arms of his hands were made strong 

By the hands of the mighty one of Jacob, 

By the arms of the Rock of Israel ; 

Even by the God of thy father who shall help thee, 

And by the Almighty who shall bless thee." 



220 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

They shall be on the head of Joseph, 
And on the crown of the head of him that was 
separate from his brethren.^ 

27 Benjamin is as a wolf that rayineth : 
In the morning he shall devour the prey. 
And at even he shall divide the spoil. 

28 All these are the twelve trihes of Israel : and this 
(P) is it that their father spake nnto them :t and blessed 

them J eve?y one according to his blessing he blessed them. 

29 '^'^ And he charged them, and said unto them, I am to be gathered 
unto my people : bii.ry me with my fathers in the cave that is in 

30 the field of Ephron the Hittite, in the cave that is in the field of 
Machpelah, which is before Mamre, in the lajid of Canaan, 
^^vhich Abraham bought with the field from Ephron the Hittite 

2,1 for a possession of a buryingplace : ^^ there they buried Abraham 
and Sarah his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his 

1^50 : i2f. Ct. 47 : 29-31. i''Ch. 23. 1623 : ip ; 25 :9. 

*In vs. 26 translate "the blessings of the ancient mountains," etc., according to 
margin. See Part III. The hegemony of Judah is deduced in this poem as a 
natural right ; the royal honor of Joseph — the " crowned one " among his brethren 
—on the other hand, corresponds to the realities of the post-Solomonic period. 
Altogether the attitude assumed by the poet is that which might be expected 
from a Judasan to whom the preeminence of Ephraim had become an accepted 
fact— even a matter for patriotic gratulation. 

t The Blessing of Jacob is an incorporated poem of such peculiar characteristics 
that it is easier to speak of it as a whole than to append the copious notes which 
would be desirable to each salient part. While not supposed to be strictly the com- 
position of J, it is printed in the type assigned to this author because apparently 
forming part of his original work. Historical criticism as to the antiquity of the 
poem need not be entered into, and exegetical notes are not within the sphere of the 
present work. The numerous word-plays, however, which area striking character- 
istic of this and similar poems (cf . e. g. the Blessing of Moses, Dt. xxxiii.), require 
some explanation to the English reader beside that afforded by the margin. The 
play upon the verb hodah, "praise," in vs. 8, will be generally recognized. The 
question is whether there is not a further secondary play in yadhka^ "thy hand." 
—The same verb, zabal, "to dwell," is resorted to in vs. 13 for a play upon the 
name Zebulun as in ch. xxx. Similarly Dan, vs. 16, is connected, as in ch. xxx., 
with din, "to judge," the figure of the adder in the path being suggested, how- 
ever, by the geographical position of the tribe on the great caravan route, at the 
gates of the country. For the word-plays of vs. 19 see Part \\\.-~Ben phorath of vs. 
22, translated "a fruitful bough," is probably a play upon Ephraim or "Ephrath." 
"With the adoption of Prof. Moore's conjecture the following passage presents no 
great difficulty. The blessings of heaven above and of the tehom, or '.' great deep" 
(i. e. the world ocean, the primeval " waters under the earth " — cf. Gen. i. 2 and vii. 
II— beneath, are the fertilizing rain and springs, which make Joseph's territory 
more luxuriant than the mountain slopes. Cf. xxvii. 27f. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 321 

wife ; and there I buried Leah:* the field and the cave that is 32 
therei?i, which was purchased from the children of Heth. 
(J) And when Jacob made an end of charging his sons, "he 33 

(P) gathered up his feet into the hed, [ • • • ] and 

yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people. 

(J) 'And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and 50 
wept upon him, and kissed him. And Joseph com- 2 
manded his servants the physicians to emhalm his 
father: and the physicians embalmed Israel. And 3 
forty days were fulfilled for him ; for so are fulfilled 
the days of embalming : and the Egyptians wept for 
him threescore and ten days. 

And when the days of weeping for him were past, 4 
Joseph spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, 'If 
now I have found grace in your eyes, speak, I pray 
you, in the ears of Pharaoh, saying, 'My father made 5 
me swear, saying, Lo, I die: in my grave which I 
have digged for me in the land of Canaan, f there 
slialt thou bury me. Now therefore let me go up, 
I pray thee, and bury my father, and I will come 
again. And Pharaoh said. Go up, and bury thy fa- 6 
ther, according as he made thee swear. And Joseph 7 
went up to bury his father : and with him went up 
all the servants of Pharaoh, 'the elders of his house, 
and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all 8 
the house of Joseph, and his brethren, and his fa- 
ther's house : 'only their little ones, and their flocks, 
and their herds, they left in the land of Goshen. 
And there went up with him both chariots and 9 
horsemen: and it was a very great company. And 10 
they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, which is 
beyond Jordan, and there they lamented with a very 
great and sore lamentation : and he made a mourn- 
ing for his father seven days. And when "the in- n 

1*48:2. 133:4; 45:14; 46:29. ^18:3, etc. ^47 -.zg. *24 : 2. *47 : 1. *I2:6. Ct. 15 : i6 ; 
48:22. 
* Insert " and Rachel." See note to xlviii. 7. 
i Showing alteration of xlvii. 30. 



322 THE FIRST BOOK OF MOSES, 

habitants of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourn- 
ing in the floor of Atad, they said. This is a grievous 
mourning to the Egyptians : 'wherefore the name of 
it was called Abelmizraim, which is beyond Jordan.* 

12 (P) ^And his sons did unto him according as he commanded them : 

13 /<?r his sons carried him into the land of Canaan^ and buried him 
in the cave of the field of Machpelah, which Abraham bought 
with the field, for a possession of a buryingplace, of Ephron the 
Hittite, before Mamre. 

14 (J) And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his 
brethren, and all that went up with him to bury his 

15 (E) father, after he had buried his father. And 
when Joseph's brethren saw that their father was dead, 
they said, It may be that Joseph will hate us, and will 

1 6 fully requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And 
they sent a message unto Joseph, saying. Thy father did 

17 command before he died, saying. So shall ye say unto 
Joseph, ^Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgression of 
thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto thee 
evil : and now, we pray thee, forgive the transgression of 
the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept 

1 8 when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went 
and fell down before his face : and they said, Behold, we 

19 be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not : 

20 '"for am I in the place of God ? "And as for you, ye 
meant evil against me ; but God meant it for good, to 
bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive, 

21 '^Now therefore fear ye not : I will nourish you, and your 
little ones. And he comforted them, "and spake kindly 
unto them. 

22 And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house : 

'33:17, etc. s^giagf. »Ex. 32:31. i''3o:2. "45:7f. 1*45 : 11 ; 47 : 12. '^34:3. 

* The evidence of duplicate accounts which Kautzsch and Socin discover in vv. 
9-11 is very precarious. If traces of E's narrative are present here, it would scarcely 
be in the names Abelmizraim and Goren-ha-Atad that they would probably come 
to the surface. The place of sepulture of the patriarchs in E is Shechem, xxxiii. 19; 
Jos. xxiv. 32. Verse xob has, however, the appearance of a doublet, and may perhaps 
be parallel to the preceding half-verse. 



COMMONLY CALLED GENESIS. 233 

(P) (E) and Joseph lived an hundred and ten years. And 23 
Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third generation : 
"the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh were 
'^born upon Joseph's knees. **And Joseph said unto his 24 
brethren, I die : but God will surely visit you, and bring 
you up out of this land unto the land which he sware to 
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. "And Joseph took an 25 
oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit 
you, and ye shall carry up my bones from hence. So 26 
Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years old : and 
they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin in Egypt. 

i^Num. 32:39f. 1^30:3. i'48:2i. "Ex. 13 : 19. 



PART III 



The Documents J, E and P separately 
restored in a revised translation, with 
textual emendations of good authority. 



PART III. 

THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRATIVE J\ 
CIRC. 800 B. C. 

Story of Creation and of the Garden of Yahweh. 

The making of the man, of plants, of 

animals and of the woman. 

[ . . . When as yet there was neither earth nor heaven 
but only the limitless abyss (tehoni), Yahweh set fast the 
foundations of the earth, and raised up its pillars in the 
midst of the waters. And over its surface he spread out 
the dome of the heaven, establishing there the courses of 
the sun and moon and the stars ; but upon the surface of 
the earth beneath there was neither motion nor life : 
all was yet a solitude*] in the day that Yahweh 2 — Afi 
made earth and heaven. And there was yet no plant of 5 
the field in the earth, and no herb of the field had yet 
sprung up, for Yahweh had not caused it to rain upon 
the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground ; 
but there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the 6 
whole face of the ground. And Yahweh moulded man 7 
of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nos- 
trils breath of life ; and man became a living creature. 
And Yahweh planted a garden in Eden, in the East ; and 8 
there he put the man whom he had moulded. And out 9 
of the ground made Yahweh to spring up every tree that is 
pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; and the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil, in the midst of the gar- 
den. And Yahweh commanded the man, saying. Of every 16 
tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : but of the tree 1 7 
which is in the midst of the garden, thou shalt not eat : 
for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

* Conjecturally restored from indications in the earlier literature (e. g. Gen. xlix. 
25 ; I Sam. ii. 8 ; Dt. xsxiii. 13, 26 ; Jud. v. 20), and by comparison with the Babylon- 
ian cosmogonic myths, a connection with which in even the Eden story has recently 
come to light. 

(227) 



228 THE JUD^A N PROP HE TIC NA RRA TI VE /' , 

1 8 And Yahweh said, It is not good that the man should be 

19 alone ; I will make him an help to match him. So Yah- 
weh moulded out of the ground every beast of the field, 
and every fowl of the air ; and brought them unto the man 
to see what he would call them : and whatsoever the man 

20 called it, that is the name thereof. And the man gave 
names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every 
wild beast ; but still for a man he did not find an help to 

21 match him. And Yahweh caused a deep sleep to fall 
upon the man, and he slept ; and he took one of his ribs, 

22 and closed up the flesh in its place : and Yahweh built up 
the rib which he had taken from the man into a woman, 

23 and brought her unto the man. And the man said, This 
time, at least, it is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh : 
she shall be called Ishah (Woman), because she was taken 

24 out of Ish (Man). Therefore doth a man leave his father 
and his mother, and cleaveth unto his wife : and they 

25 become one flesh. And they were both naked, the man 
and his wife, and were not ashamed. 

The Story of the Tree of Knowledge. How evil, 

TOIL AND DEATH CAME TO BE IN THE WORLD. 

3 Now the serpent was more subtle than any wild beast 
which Yahweh had made. And he said unto the woman. 
Hath God indeed said. Ye shall not eat of any tree of the 

2 garden ? And the woman said unto the serpent. Of the 

3 fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat : but of the 
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God 
hath said. Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, 

4 lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye 

5 shall not die at all : for God doth know that in the day 
ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall 

6 be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman 
saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a de- 
light to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to 
make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat ; 
and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 339 

eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they 7 
knew that they were naked ; and they sewed fig leaves 
together, and made themselves girdles. And they heard 8 
the footstep of Yahweh walking in the garden in the even- 
ing breeze : and the man and his wife hid themselves from 
the presence of Yahweh amongst the trees of the garden. 
And Yahweh called unto the man, and said unto him, 9 
Where art thou ? And he said, I heard thy footstep in 10 
the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked ; and I 
hid myself. And he said. Who told thee that thou wast 1 1 
naked ? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I command- 
ed thee that thou shouldest not eat ? And the man said, 1 2 
The woman whom thou didst put with me, she gave me 
of the tree, and I did eat. And Yahweh said unto the 13 
woman. What is this thou hast done ? And the woman 
said. The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 

And Yahweh said unto the serpent. Because thou hast 14 
done this. 

Cursed art thou from all cattle, 

From all the wild beasts of the field ; 

Thou shalt g6 on thy belly. 

And dust shalt thou eat all thy life's days. 

Hatred I put between thee and the woman, 15 

Between thy seed and her seed • 
They shall strike at thy head, 
And thou shalt strike at their heel. 
Unto the woman he said, 16 

I will multiply thy pain in conception ; 
With pain shalt thou bring forth children ; 
Yet shalt long for thy husband 
And he shall rule thee. 
And to the man he said. Because thou hast hearkened un- 17 
to the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree of which 
I commanded thee, saying. Thou shalt not eat of it, 
Acciirst is the grdund for thy sake ; 
Eat of it in toil all thy life's days. 



, 230 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

18 Thistles and thorns it shall b6ar thee ; 
And the herb of the field be thy food. 

19 In the sweat of thy face eat thy bread, 
Till thou return to the ground ; 

For from it wast thou taken : 

For ddst thou art, and to dust thou retiirnest.* 

21 So Yahweh sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to 

2 1 till the ground from whence he was taken. And Yahweh 

made for the man and for his wife garments of skins and 

6 — 3 clothed them. And Yahweh said. My breath shall not 

prevail in man forever (?) he is flesh. Therefore 

his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. 

The Story of the Man's Descendants. 

How THE ARTS BEGAN. 

4 — I And the man knew his wife ; and she conceived and 

bare Cain, and said I have gotten {Kanitht) a man with 
3 — 20 the help of Yahweh. And the man called his wife's 

name Eve {Hawaii, as if from havah, " to live "), because 

she was the mother of all living. 
4 — 2b, 1 63 And Cain became a tiller of the ground, and dwelt 

in the land of Nod (Wandering), on this side of Eden. 

17 And Cain knew his wife, and she conceived and bare 
Enoch : and he became the builder of a city, and he 
called the name of the city after his own name Enoch. 

18 And unto Enoch was born Irad : and Irad begat Mehu- 
jael : and Mehujael begat Methushael : and Methushael 

19 begat Lamech. And Lamech took unto him two wives ; 
the name of the one was Adah, and the name of the other 

20 Zillah. And Adah bare Jabal : he was the progenitor of 

21 such as dwell in tents and [have] cattle. And his broth- 
er's name was Jubal : he was the progenitor of all such 

*The above versification of the text is not intended to imply that the original 
poem was of exactly this form. The tonic accent is employed to indicate the rhythm 
and number of the Hebrew words where traces seem to remain of rhythm as well 
as other characteristics of poetry in the original. The lines and strophes are deter- 
mined by the sense. So in all subsequent cases. 



CIRC, 800 B. C. 231 

as handle the harp and pipe. And Zillah, she also bare 22 
Tubal, and he became a smith, a forger of brass and iron : 
and the sister of Tubal was Naamah. And Lamech said 23 
unto his wives : 

Adah and Zillah, hear my v6ice ; 

Ye wives of Lamech, list to my speech : 

For I will slay a man for each wdund, 

And a boy for each bruise. 

If C^in be avenged sevenfdld, 

Truly seventy and sevenfold Lamech. 

The Story of the Decendants of Jabal. How 
THE Curse of toil was mitigated by 

THE discovery OF THE VINE. 

[And Jabal, Lamech's firstborn, begat] a son : and 5 — 283 
he called his name Noah (Comfort), saying, 29 

Cdmfort he brings for our labor and tdil. 
Out of the soil which Yahweh hath ciirsed. 
[And Noah begat three sons, Shem Japheth and 
Canaan.] 

And Noah was the first husbandman to plant a 9 — 20 
vineyard : and he drank of the wine, and was drunken ; 2 1 
and he was uncovered within his tent. And Canaan saw 22 
the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren 
without. And Shem and Japheth took a mantle and laid 23 
it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and 
covered the nakedness of their father ; and their faces 
were backward, and they saw not their father's naked- 
ness, And Noah awoke from his wine, and learned what 24 
his youngest son had done unto him. And he said, 25 

Ctirsed be Canaan ; 
A slave's slave be \i€ to his brethren. 
And he said, 26 

Blessed of Yahweh be Shem : 
And let Canaan be slave to them both. 
Japheth let Yahweh enlarge i^japht), 27 

And let him dwell in the tents of Shem ; 
And let Canaan be slave to them both. 



232 THE JUD^A N PROPHETIC NA ERA TI VE /• , 
The Story of the Demi-gods. How the ancient 

HEROES came INTO THE WORLD. 

6 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on 
the face of the ground, and daughters were bom unto 

2 them^ that the sons of God * saw the daughters of men 
that they were fair ; and they took them wives of any that 

^b they chose. And the sons of God came in unto the 
daughters of men, and they bare children to them : the 
same were the heroes which were of old, the men of re- 
10 — 9 nown. [And Naamah(?) bare NimrodJ he becam.e a 
hero of the chase before Yahweh : wherefore the saying 
is, Like Nimrod a hero of the chase before Yahweh. [He 
went forth into Assyria and builded Nineveh.] 

The Story of Babylon. How the first great empires 

were founded, and the nations and languages 

of the world originated 

11 Now the whole earth was of one language and of one 

2 speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed in the 
east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar ; and 

3 they dwelt there. And they said one to another. Go to, let 
us make brick, and burn them thoroughly. And they used 
the brick for stone, and the bitumen they used for mortar. 

4 And they said. Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, 
whose top may reach unto heaven, and let us make us a 
monument, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the 

5 whole earth. And Yahweh came down to see the city and 

6 the tower, which the children of men builded. And Yah- 
weh said, Behold, they are one people, and they have all 
one language; and this is but the beginning of what they 
will do : for now nothing will be impossible for them, what- 

7 ever they may purpose to do. Go to, let us go down, and 
there turn their language to babble, that they may not 

8 understand one another's speech. So Yahweh scattered 
them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth : 

*I. e. divine beings. Of. iii. 5 ; Job ii. 1. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 333 

and they left off to build the city. Therefore was the 9 
name of it called Babel ; because Yahweh did there turn 
to babble {balal) the language of all the earth : and from 
thence did Yahweh scatter them abroad upon the face of 
all the earth. 

The Story of the Descendants of Shem. 

[Now Shem was] the father of all the children of 10 — 2\b 
Eber. [The firstborn of Shem was Eber, and Eber be- 
gat a son and called his name Peleg (Division), for in 
his days the earth was divided. And Peleg begat Reu : 
and Reu begat Serug : and Serug begat Terah : and 
Terah begat Abram, Nahor and Haran : and the son of 
Haran was Lot.] And Haran died in the presence of 11 — 28 
his father Terah in the land of his nativity. And Abram 29 
and Nahor took them wives : the name of Abram 's wife 
was Sarai ; and the name of Nahor's wife, Milcah, the 
daughter of Haran, the father of Milcah, and the father 
of Iscah. And Sarai was barren : she had no child. 30 

The Story of Abram. How the ancestor of the 
Hebrews came from Aram Naharaim. The 

ALTARS of ShECHEM AND BeTHEL. 

Now Yahweh said unto Abram : 12 

Get thee oiat of thy country, 
From fatherland and from thy home, 
To the country that I will shew thee. 

And of thee I will make a great nation, 2 

And will bless thee and make thy name great ; 
And be thou a blessing. 

Them that bless thee will I bless, 3 

Them that curse thee will I curse. 
And by thee shall all tribes of the earth invoke bless- 
ings. 

So Abram went, as Yahweh had spoken unto him ; and 4 
Lot went with him. 



234 THE JU D.SAN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

6 And Abram passed through the land unto the place of 
Shechem, unto the oak of Moreh (Soothsayer). And the 

7 Canaanite was then in the land. And Yahweh appeared 
unto Abram, and said unto him, Unto thy seed will I give 
this land : and there builded he an altar unto Yahweh, 

8 who appeared unto him. And he removed from thence 
unto the mountain on the east of Bethel, and pitched his 
tent, having Bethel on the west, and Ai on the east : and 
there he builded an altar unto Yahweh, and called upon 
the name of Yahweh. 

The story of the division of the Land. How Lot, 

THE ancestor OF MOAB AND AmMON, 

withdrew from Abram. 

13 — 2 Now Abram was very rich in cattle and silver and 
5 gold. And Lot also, which went with Abram, had flocks, 
db and herds, and tents, so that they could not dwell to- 

7 gether. And there arose a strife between the herdmen of 
Abram 's cattle and the herdmen of Lot's cattle : and the 
Canaanite and the Perizzite dwelled then in the land. 

8 And Abram said unto Lot, Let there be no strife, I pray 
thee, between me and thee, and between my herdmen 

9 and thy herdmen : for we are brethren. Is not the whole 
land before thee ? separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : 
if [thou wilt take] the left hand, then I will go to the right ; 
or if [thou take] the right hand, then I will go to the left. 

10 And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the Plain of 
Jordan, that it was well watered every where, before Yah- 
weh destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, like the garden of 

1 1 Yahweh, till thou come unto Zoar. So Lot chose him all 
\2b the Plain of Jordan ; and Lot journeyed east, and moved 
1 8 his tent as far as Sodom. And Abram moved his tent, 

and came and dwelt by the oak of Mamre, which is in 
Hebron, and built there an altar unto Yahweh. 

The Story of the Covenant. How Yahweh 

GAVE the land TO AbRAM. 

15 — 7 [And Yahweh appeared unto Abram] and said unto 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 335 

him, I am Yahweh that brought thee out from thy 
fatherland, to give thee this land to inherit it. And 8 
he said, O Lord Yahweh whereby shall I know that 
I shall inherit it? And he said unto him. Take me an 9 
heifer of three years old, and a she-goat of three years 
old, and a ram of three years old, and a turtle-dove, and 
a young pigeon. And he took him all these, and divided 10 
them in the midst, and laid each half over against the 
other : but the birds divided he not. And the birds of 1 1 
prey came down upon the carcases, and Abram drove 
them away. And it came to pass, that, when the sun 17 
went down, and thick darkness had come on, behold 
a smoking oven, and a flaming torch that passed be- 
tween these pieces. In that day Yahweh made a cove- 18 
nant with Abram, saying. Unto thy seed have I given this 
land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the 
river Euphrates. And Abram said, O Lord Yahweh, 15 — 2 
what wilt thou give me, seeing I go hence ? and, lo, one 
born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of 4 
Yahweh came unto him, saying, This man shall not be 
thine heir ; but one that shall come forth out of thine own 
bowels shall be thine heir. And he believed in Yahweh ; 6 
and he counted it to him for righteousness. 

The Story of Ishmael. How the Ishmaelites 

OBTAINED their SEAT. OrIGIN OF THE 

Well of Beer-Lahai-Roi. 

Now [Sarai] had an Egyptian handmaid, whose 16 
name was Hagar. And Sarai said unto Abram, Behold 2 
now, Yahweh hath restrained me from bearing ; go in, I 
pray thee, unto my handmaid ; it may be that I shall ob- 
tain children by her. And Abram hearkened to the voice 
of Sarai, and went in unto Hagar, and she conceived : 4 
and when she saw that she had conceived, her mistress 
was despised in her eyes. And Sarai said unto Abram, 5 
My wrong be visited upon thee : I gave my handmaid in- 
to thy bosom ; and when she saw that she had conceived. 



336 THE JUD.-EAN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE /', 

I was despised in her eyes : Yahweh judge between me 

6 and thee. But Abram said unto Sarai, Behold, thy maid 
is in thy hand ; do to her that which is good in thine eyes. 
And Sarai dealt hardly with her, and she fled from her 

7 face. And the angel of Yahweh found her by a fountain 
of water in the wilderness, by the fountain in the way to 

8 Shur. And he said, Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, whence 
camest thou ? and whither goest thou ? And she said, I 

1 1 am fleeing from the face of my mistress Sarai. And the 
angel of Yahweh said unto her : 

Lo thou art with child, and shalt bear a son : 
Ishmael (God hears) call thou his name ; 
For Yahweh hath heard thy affliction. 

1 2 And he shall be a wild-ass of a man ; 

His hand against all, and all against him ; 
He shall dwell fronting all of his brethren. 

13 And she called the name of Yahweh that spake unto 
her. El Roi (God visible) : for she said. Have I even seen 

14 God, and live after my seeing ? Wherefore the well was 
called, Beer-lahai-roi (Well of him that seeth me and 
liveth) ; behold, it is between Kadesh and Bered. 

Story of the promise of Isaac. How Abram received 
Yahweh as his guest, but the Sodomites 

USED shameful TREATMENT. 

18 And Yahweh appeared unto [Abram] by the oak of 
Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day ; 

2 and he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men 
stood over against him : and when he saw them, he ran 
to meet them from the tent door, and bowed himself to 

3 the earth, and said, My lord, if now I have found favour 
in thy sight, pass not away, I pray thee, from thy servant : 

4 let now a little water be fetched, and wash your feet, and 

5 rest yourselves under the tree : and I will fetch a morsel 
of bread, and comfort ye your heart ; after that ye shall 
pass on : forasmuch as ye are come to your servant. And 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 237 

they said, So do, as thou hast said. And Abram hastened 6 
into the tent unto Sarai, and said. Make ready quickly 
three pecks of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes. And 7 
Abram ran unto the herd, and fetched a calf tender and 
good, and gave it unto the servant ; and he hasted to dress 
it. And he took curds, and milk, and the calf which he 8 
had dressed, and set it before them ; and he stood by 
them under the tree, and they did eat. And they said 9 
unto him, Where is Sarai thy wife ? And he said, Behold, 
in the tent. And he said, I will certainly return unto 10 
thee when the season cometh round ; and, lo, Sarai thy 
wife shall have a son. And Sarai heard in the tent door, 
which was behind him. Now Abram and Sarai were 11 
old, [and] well stricken in age ; it had ceased to be with 
Sarai after the manner of women. And Sarai laughed 12 
within herself, saying, After I am waxed old, shall I have 
pleasure, my lord being old also ? And Yahweh said un- 1 3 
to Abram, Wherefore did Sarai laugh, saying, Shall I of a 
surety bear a child, now that I am old ? Is any thing too 14 
hard for Yahweh ? At the set time I will return unto 
thee, when the season cometh round, and Sarai shall have 
a son. Then Sarai denied, saying, I laughed not ; for she 15 
was afraid. And he said. Nay ; but thou didst laugh. 

And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward 16 
Sodom : and Abram went with them to bring them on 
the way. Now the men of Sodom were wicked and 13 — 13 
sinners against Yahweh exceedingly. And Yahweh 18 — 20 
said, I hear that the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah 
is great, and that their sin is very grievous ; I will go 21 
down now, and see whether they have done altogether 
according to the scandal of it, which is come unto me ; 
and if not, I will know. And the men turned from thence, 22 
and went toward Sodom : and Abram returned unto his 33^ 
place. 

And the men came to Sodom at even ; and Lot sat in 19 
the gate of Sodom : and Lot saw them, and rose up to 
meet them ; and he bowed himself with his face to the 



238 772^^- JUDjEA N PROPHETIC NA RRA TIVE J\ 

2 earth ; and he said, Behold now, my lords, turn aside, I 
pray you, into your servant's house, and tarry all night, 
and wash your feet, and ye shall rise up early, and go on 
your way. And they said. Nay ; but we will abide in the 

3 street all night. And he urged them greatly ; and they 
turned in unto him, and entered into his house ; and he 
made them a feast, and did bake unleavened bread, and 

4 they did eat. But before they lay down, the men of the 
city compassed the house round, both young and old, all 

5 the people from every quarter ; and they called unto Lot, 
and said unto him, Where are the men which came in to 
thee this night ? bring them out unto us, that we may 

6 know them. And Lot went out unto them to the door, 

7 and shut the door after him. And he said, I pray you, 

8 my brethren, do not so wickedly. Behold now, I have two 
daughters which have not known man ; let me, I pray 
you, bring them out unto you, and do ye to them as is 
good in your eyes : only unto these men do nothing ; for- 
asmuch as they are come under the shadow of my roof. 

9 And they said, Stand back. And they said, This one fel- 
low came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge : 
now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And 
they pressed sore upon the man, and drew near to break 

10 the door. But the men put forth their hand, and brought 

11 Lot into the house to them, and shut(?) the door. And 
they smote the men that were at the door of the house 
with blindness, both small and great : so that they wearied 

1 2 themselves to find the door. And the men said unto Lot, 
Hast thou here any besides ? thy sons in law and thy 
daughters, and whomsoever thou hast in the city ; bring 

13 them out of the place : for we will destroy this place, 
because the scandal of them is waxen great before Yahweh ; 

14 and Yahweh hath sent us to destroy it. And Lot went out, 
and spake unto his sons in law, which were to marry his 
daughters, and said. Up, get you out of this place ; for 
Yahweh will destroy the city. But he seemed unto his 

15 sons in law as one that mocked. And when the morning 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 239 

arose, then the men hastened Lot, saying. Arise, take thy 
wife, and thy two daughters which are here ; lest thou 
be consumed in the punishment of the city. But he lin- 16 
gered ; and the men laid hold upon his hand, and upon the 
hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two daughters ; 
Yahweh being merciful unto him : and they brought him 
forth, and set him without the city. And it came to pass, 17 
when they had brought them forth abroad, that he said. 
Escape for thy life ; look not behind thee, neither stay 
thou in all the Plain ; escape to the mountain, lest thou 
be consumed. And Lot said unto them. Oh, not so, my 18 
lord : behold now, thy servant hath found grace in thy 19 
sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast 
shewed unto me in saving my life ; and I cannot escape 
to the mountain, lest the calamity overtake me, and I die : 
behold now, this city is near to flee unto, and it is a little 20 
one : Oh, let me escape thither, (is it not a little one ?) and 
my soul shall live. And he said unto him. See, I have ac- 2 1 
cepted thee concerning this thing also, that I will not over- 
throw the city of which thou hast spoken. Haste thee, 22 
escape thither ; for I cannot do any thing till thou be come 
thither. Therefore the name of the city was called Zoar. 
(Little). The sun was risen upon the earth when Lot 23 
came unto Zoar. Then Yahweh rained upon Sodom and 24 
upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from Yahweh out of 
heaven ; and he overthrew those cities, and all the Plain, 25 
and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew 
upon the ground. [ . . . ] But his wife looked back from 26 
behind him, and she became a pillar of salt. And Abram 27 
gat up early in the morning to the place where he had 
stood before Yahweh : and he looked down toward Sodom 28 
and Gomorrah, and toward all the land of the Plain, and 
beheld, and, lo, the smoke of the land went up as the 
smoke of a furnace. 

Story of the origin of the Moabites and Ammonites. 

And Lot went up out of Zoar, and dwelt in the moun- 30 



240 



THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 



tain coantry, and his two daughters with him ; for he 
feared to dwell in Zoar ; and he dwelt in a cave, he and 

31 his two daughters. And the firstborn said unto the 
younger, Our father is old, and there is not a man in the 
earth to come in unto us after the manner of all the earth : 

32 come, let us make our father drink wine, and we will lie 

33 with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. And 
they made their father drink wine that night : and the 
firstborn went in, and lay with her father ; and he knew 

34 not when she lay down nor when she arose. And it came 
to pass on the morrow, that the firstborn said unto the 
younger, Behold, I lay yesternight with my father : let us 
make him drink wine this night also ; and go thou in, 
and lie with him, that we may preserve seed of our father. 

35 And they made their father drink wine that night also : 
and the younger arose, and lay with him ; and he knew 

36 not when she lay down nor when she arose. Thus were 
both the daughters of Lot with child by their father. 

37 And the firstborn bare a son, and called his name Moab 
(as if==Father's seed) : the same is the father of the 

38 Moabites unto this day. And the younger, she also bare 
a son, and called his name Ben-ammi (as if=Son of my 
people) : the same is the father of the children of Ammon 
unto this day. 

Story of the birth of Isaac. The twelve tribes of 

Syrian stock and twelve south Arabian 

tribes of Abrahamic stock. 

21 — I, 2 And Yahweh visited Sarai as he had said. And 
Sarai conceived and bare Abram a son in his old age. 
7 And she said : 

Who would have said unto Abram, 
Sarai shall bear to thee sons ? 
db Will laugh at me* all they that hear it ; 
']b For a son of his old age I bare him. 
22 — 20 And it was told Abram, saying, Behold, Milcah, she 

* With a play upon the name Isaac. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 241 

also hath borne children unto thy brother Nahor ; Uz his 21 
firstborn, and Buz his brother, and Kemuel the father of 
Aram ; and Chesed, and Hazo, and Pildash, and Jidlaph, 22 
and Bethuel. And Bethuel begat Rebekah : these eight 23 
did Milcah bear to Nahor, Abram's brother. And his 24 
concubine, whose name was Reumah, she also bare Tebah, 
and Gaham, and Tahash, and Maacah. 

And Abram took another wife, and her name was 25 
Keturah. And she bare him Zimran, and Jokshan, and 2 
Midian, and Ishbak, and Shuah. And Jokshan begat 3 
Sheba, and Dedan. And the sons of Dedan were Asshu- 
rim, and Letushim, and Leummim. And the sons of 4 
Midian ; Ephah, and Epher, and Hanoch, and Abida, and 
Eldaah. All these were the children of Keturah. And 5 
Abram gave all that he had unto Isaac. [But unto Ish- 
mael also he sent gifts unto the east country], for he dwelt 18 
from Havilah unto Shur that is before Egypt (as thou 
goest toward Ashur?); he dwelt in front of(?) all his 
brethren. And Isaac dwelt by Beer-lahai-roi. \ib 

Story of the death of Abram. How a wife 

WAS brought to Isaac from the 

Syrian fatherland. 

Now Abram was old, and well stricken in age : and 24 
Yahweh had blessed Abram in all things. And Abram 2 
said unto his servant, the elder of his house, that ruled 
over all that he had. Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my 
thigh : and Iwill make thee swear by Yahweh, the God of 3 
heaven and the God of the earth, that thou shalt not take 
a wife for my son of the daughters of the Canaanites, 
among whom I dwell : but thou shalt go unto my country, 4 
and to my kindred, and take a wife for my son Isaac. And 5 
the servant said unto him, Peradventure the woman will 
not be willing to follow me unto this land : must I needs 
bring thy son again unto the land from whence thou cam- 
est? And Abram said unto him. Beware that thou 6 
bring not my son thither again. Yahweh, the God of 7 
16 



242 



THE JUDjEA N prophetic NARRA TIVE J\ 



heaven, that took me from my father's house, and from 
the land of my nativity, and that spake unto me, and that 
sware unto me, saying. Unto thy seed will I give this 
land ; he shall send his angel before thee, and thou shalt 

8 take a wife for my son from thence. And if the woman 
be not willing to follow thee, then thou shalt be clear 
from this my oath ; only thou shalt not bring my son 

9 thither again. And the servant put his hand under the 
thigh of Abram his master, and sware to him concerning 

10 this matter. And the servant took ten camels, of the 
camels of his master, for all his master's goods were in 
his hand. And he arose and went to Aram Naharaim,* 

11 unto the city of Nahor. And he made the camels to 
kneel down without the city by the well of water at the 
time of evening, the time that women go out to draw 

1 2 water. And he said, O Yahweh, the God of my master 
Abram, send me, I pray thee, good speed this day, and 

13 shew kindness unto my master Abram. Behold, I stand 
by the fountain of water ; and the daughters of the men 

14 of the city come out to draw water : and let it come to 
pass, that the damsel to whom I shall say. Let down thy 
pitcher, I pray thee, that I may drink ; and she shall say, 
Drink, and I will give thy camels drink also : let the 
same be she that thou hast appointed for thy servant 
Isaac ; and thereby shall I know that thou hast shewed 

15 kindness unto my master. And it came to pass, before 
he had done speaking, that, behold, Rebekah came out, 
who was born to Bethuel the son of Milcah, the wife of 
Nahor, Abram's brother, with her pitcher upon her 

16 shoulder. And the damsel was very fair to look upon, a 
virgin, neither had any man known her : and she went 
down to the fountain, and filled her pitcher, and came 

1 7 up. And the servant ran to meet her, and said. Give me 

18 to drink, I pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher. And 
she said, Drink, my lord : and she hasted, and let down 

♦I.e. "River-Syria." By no means Mesopotamia, but the "Plain of Syria," 
Paddan-aram, as P calls it, near the seat of the Hittite empire. " Naharina " on the 
monuments of Egypt. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 243 

her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink. And 19 
when she had done giving- him drink, she said, I will 
draw for thy camels also, until they have done drinking. 
And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, 20 
and ran again unto the well to draw, and drew for all his 
camels. And the man looked steadfastly on her, to know 2 1 
whether Yahweh had made his journey prosperous or 
not. And it came to pass, as the camels had done drink- 22 
ing, that the man took a golden ring of half a shekel 
weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels 
weight of gold ; and said, Whose daughter art thou ? tell 23 
me, I pray thee. Is there room in thy father's house for 
us to lodge in ? And she said unto him, I am the daugh- 24 
ter of Bethuel the son of Milcah, which she bare unto 
Nahor. She said moreover unto him. We have both 25 
straw and provender enough, and room to lodge in. And 26 
the man bowed his head, and worshipped Yahweh. And 27 
he said. Blessed be Yahweh, the God of my master 
Abram, who hath not forsaken his mercy and his truth 
toward my master : as for me, Yahweh hath led me in 
the way to the house of my master's brethren. And the 28 
damsel ran, and told her mother's house according to 
these words. And Rebekah had a brother, and his name 29 
was Laban. And it came to pass, when he saw the ring, 30 
and the bracelets upon his sister's hands, and when he 
heard the words of Rebekah his sister, saying. Thus 
spake the man unto me ; that Laban ran out unto the foun- 29^^ 
tain, and came unto the man ; and, behold, he stood by the 
camels at the fountain. And he said. Come in, thou 31 
blessed of Yahweh ; wherefore standest thou without ? for 
I have prepared the house, and room for the camels. And 32 
he brought the man into the house, and ungirded the cam- 
els ; and he gave straw and provender for the camels, and 
water to wash his feet and the men's feet that were with 
him. And there was set meat before him to eat : but he 33 
said, I will not eat, until I have told mine errand. And 34 
he said, Speak on. And he said, I am Abram's servant. 



244 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

35 And Yahweh hath blessed my master greatly ; and he is 
become great : and he hath given him flocks and herds, 
and silver and gold, and menservants and maidservants, 

36 and camels and asses. And Sarai my master's wife bare 
a son to my master when she was old : and unto him hath 

37 he given all that he hath. And my master made me 
swear, saying. Thou shalt not take a wife for my son of 
the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I dwell ; 

38 but thou shalt go unto my father's house, and to my 

39 kindred, and take a wife for my son. And I said unto 
my master, Peradventure the woman will not follow me. 

40 And he said unto me, Yahweh, before whom I walk, will 
send his angel with thee, and prosper thy way ; and thou 
shalt take a wife for my son of my kindred, and of my 

41 father's house : then shalt thou be clear from my oath, 
when thou comest to my kindred ; and if they give her 

42 not to thee, thou shalt be clear from my oath. And I 
came this day unto the fountain, and said, O Yahweh, 
the God of my master Abram, if now thou do prosper 

43 my way which I go : behold, I stand by the fountain of 
water ; and let it come to pass, that the maiden which 
Cometh forth to draw, to whom I shall say, Give me, I 

44 pray thee, a little water of thy pitcher to drink ; and she 
shall say to me, Both drink thou, and i wiii also draw for 
thy camels: let the same be the woman whom Yahweh 

45 hath appointed for my master's son. And before I had 
done speaking in mine heart, behold, Rebekah came 
forth with her pitcher on her shoulder ; and she went 
down unto the fountain, and drew: and I said unto her, 

46 Let me drink, I pray thee. And she made haste, and 
let down her pitcher from her shoulder, and said, Drink, 
and I will give thy camels drink also : so I drank, and 

47 she made the camels drink also. And I asked her, and 
said, Whose daughter art thou? And she said. The 
daughter of Bethuel, Nahor's son, whom Milcah bare 
unto him : and I put the ring upon her nose, and the 

48 bracelets upon her hands. And I bowed my head, and 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 245 

worshipped Yahweh, and blessed Yahweh, the God of 
my master Abram, which had led me in the right way 
to take my master's brother's daughter for his son. And 49 
now if ye will deal kindly and truly with my master, tell 
me : and if not, tell me ; that I may turn to the right 
hand, or to the left. Then Laban answered and said, 50 
The thing proceedeth from Yahweh : we cannot speak 
unto thee bad or good. Behold, Rebekah is before thee, 5 1 
take her, and go, and let her be thy master's son's wife, 
as Yahweh hath spoken. And it came to pass, that, 52 
when Abram 's servant heard their words, he bowed him- 
self down to the earth unto Yahweh. And the servant 53 
brought forth jewels of silver, and jewels of gold, and 
raiment, and gave them to Rebekah : he gave also to 
her brother and to her mother precious things. And 54 
they did eat and drink, he and the men that were with 
him, and tarried all night ; and they rose up in the morn- 
ing, and he said. Send me away unto my master. And 55 
her brother and her mother said, Let the damsel abide 
with us a year, or ten months ; after that she shall go. 
And he said unto them, Hinder me not, seeing Yahweh 56 
hath prospered my way ; send me away that I may go 
to my master. And they said. We will call the damsel, 57 
and inquire at her mouth. And they called Rebekah, 58 
and said unto her. Wilt thou go with this man ? And 
she said, I will go. And they sent away Rebekah their 59 
sister, and her nurse, and Abram's servant, and his men. 
And they blessed Rebekah, and said unto her. 

Of ten thousands of thousands be mother, O sister. 
And thy seed possess the gate of their foes. 

And Rebekah arose, and her damsels, and they rode 61 
upon the camels, and followed the man : [and they came 
to Beer-sheba, and found Abram dead]. And the ser- 6i« 
vant took Rebekah and went his way through the wilder- 62 
ness of Beer-lahai-roi [to] come [unto] Isaac ; for he 
dwelt in the land of the South (Negeb). And Isaac 6^ 



246 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

went out to . . . (?) in the field at the eventide : 
and he lifted up his eyes, and saw, and, behold, there 

64 were camels coming. And Rebekah lifted up her 
eyes, and when she saw Isaac, she lighted off the camel. 

65 And she said unto the servant, What man is this that 
walketh in the field to meet us ? And the servant said, 
It is my master : and she took her veil, and covered her- 

66 self. And the servant told Isaac all the things that he 

67 had done. And Isaac brought her into the tent, and 
took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved 
her : and Isaac was comforted after his father's death. 

The Story of Isaac and the Philistines : How Rebekah 

WAS taken and restored, and the wells 

OF the Negeb were dug. 

26 And there was a famine in the land. And Isaac went 
unto Abimelech king of the Philistines unto Gerar. 
2, 3 And Yahweh appeared unto him and said. Sojourn in this 
6, 7 land. So Isaac dwelt in Gerar. And the men of the 
place asked him of his wife ; and he said, She is my 
sister ; for he feared to say. My wife ; lest, said he, the 
men of the place should kill me for Rebekah ; because 

8 she was fair to look upon. And it came to pass, when he 
had been there a long time, that Abimelech king of the 
Philistines looked out at a window, and saw, and, behold, 

9 Isaac was sporting* with Rebekah his wife. And Abime- 
lech called Isaac, and said, Behold, of a surety she is thy 
wife : and how saidst thou. She is my sister ? And Isaac 

10 said unto him. Because I said. Lest I die for her. And 
Abimelech said, What is this thou hast done unto us ? one 
of the people might easily have lien with thy wife, and 

11 thou shouldest have brought guiltiness upon us. And 
Abimelech charged all the people, saying. He that touch- 
eth this man or his wife shall surely be put to death. 

12 And Isaac sowed in that land, and found in the same 

13 year an hundredfold : and Yahweh blessed him. And 

* A play upon the name Isaac. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 247 

the man waxed great, and grew more and more until he 
became very great : and he had possessions of flocks, and 14 
possessions of herds, and a great household : and the 
Philistines envied him. And Abimelech said unto Isaac, 16 
Go from us ; for thou art much mightier than we. And 1 7 
Isaac departed thence, and encamped in the valley of 
Gerar, and dwelt there. And Isaac's servants digged in 19 
the valley, and found there a well of springing water. 
And the herdmen of Gerar strove with Isaac's herdmen, 20 
saying. The water is ours : and he called the name of the 
well Esek (Contention) ; because they contended with 
him. And they digged another well, and they strove for 2 1 
that also : and he called the name of it Sitnah (Enmity). 
And he removed from thence, and digged another well ; 22 
and for that they strove not : and he called the name of 
it Rehoboth (Room) ; and he said, For now Yahweh hath 
made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land. 
And he went up from thence to Beer-sheba. And 23, 24 
Yahweh appeared unto him the same night, and said, I 
am the God of Abram thy father : fear not, for I am with 
thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my 
servant Abram's sake. And he builded an altar there, 25 
and called upon the name of Yahweh, and pitched his 
tent there : and there Isaac's servants digged a well. 
Then Abimelech went to him from Gerar, and Ahuzzath 26 
his friend, and Phicol the captain of his host. And Isaac 27 
said unto them. 

Wherefore come ye to me. 

Seeing ye bear me hate. 

And have sent me away from you ? 

And they said, We certainly saw 28 

That Yahweh was ever with thee ; 
And we said. Let there now be an oath 
On our part and thine, between us ; 
Let us seal a covenant with thee : 



248 THE JUD^A N PROP HE TIC NA ERA TI VE p , 

29 That thou wilt do us no hiirt, 

As we have not touched thee at all, 

And as we have done unto thee naught but good, 

And despatched thee in peace : 

Thou art now the blessed of Yahweh. 

30 And he made them a feast, and they did eat and drink. 

31 And they rose up betimes in the morning, and sware one 
to another : and Isaac sent them away, and they departed 

32 from him in peace. And it came to pass the same day, 
that Isaac's servants came, and told him concerning the 
well which they had digged, and said unto him. We have 
found water. 

21 — 31 Wherefore he called that place Beer-sheba (Well of 
32 the Oath) ; because there they sware both of them. So 

they made a covenant at Beer-sheba : and Abimelech 

rose up, and Phicol the captain of his host, and they 
^^ returned into the land of the Philistines. And he [Isaac] 

planted a tamarisk tree in Beer-sheba, and called there 

on the name of Yahweh El Elyon. 

Story of the Oracle of the Twin peoples. 
The rivalry of Esau and Jacob. 

25 — 21 And Isaac intreated Yahweh for his wife, because 
she was barren : and Yahweh was intreated of him, and 

22 Rebekah his wife conceived. And the children struggled 
together within her ; and she said, If it be so, wherefore 
do I live ? And she went to obtain an oracle from Yah- 

23 weh. And Yahweh said unto her, 

Two nations are in thy womb, 
And two peoples shall part from thy bowels : 
And one tribe shall prevail o'er the other ; 
And the elder be slave to the younger. 

24 And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, 

25 there were twins in her womb. And the first came forth 
[shaggy], all over like an hair (sear; connected with Seir) 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 249 

garment ; and they called his name Esau. And after that 26 
came forth his brother, and his hand had hold on Esau's 
heel ; and his name was called Jacob (One that takes by 
the heel, or supplants). And the boys grew : and Esau 27 
became a cunning hunter, a man of the field ; but Jacob 
was a smooth (?) man, dwelling in tents. Now Isaac 28 
loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison : and Re- 
bekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sod pottage : and Esau 29 
came in from the field, and he was faint : and Esau said 30 
to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red [pot- 
tage] for I am faint : therefore was his name called 
Edom (Red). And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy 31 
birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to 32 
die : and what profit shall the birthright do to me ? And S3 
Jacob said. Swear to me this day ; and he sware unto 
him : and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. And Jacob 34 
gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils ; and he did eat 
and drink, and rose up, and went his way : so Esau 
despised his birthright. 

Story of the Blessing of Isaac. How Jacob supplanted 
Esau in the inheritance. 

And it came to pass, when Isaac was old, and his eyes 27 
were dim, so that he could not see [that he called Esau 
and said], take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and 3 
thy bow, and go out to the field, and ta^ me venison ; 
and [bring it to me] that my soul may bless thee. 4 
And Esau went to the field to hunt for venison, and to ^^ 
bring it. And Rebekah spake unto Jacob her son, say- 6 
ing. Behold, I heard thy father speak unto Esau thy 
brother, saying, Bring me venison [that I may eat and 7 
my soul may bless thee] before Yahweh. And Rebekah 15 
took the [perfumed ?] festal garments of Esau her elder 
son, which were with her in the house, and put them 
upon Jacob her younger son : [and Jacob came and pre- 
sented himself to his father. And Isaac said] Who art 18^: 
thou, my son? And Jacob said unto his father, I am 19 



250 THE JUDjEA N PROPHETIC NA RRA TI VE /' , 

Esaii thy firstborn ; I have done according as thou badest 
me : arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my vension, that 
20 thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his son, 
How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son ? 
And he said, Because Yahweh thy God sent me good 

24 speed. And he said. Art thou my very son Esau ? And 

25 he said, I am. And he said. Bring it near to me, and I 
will eat of my son's venison, that my soul may bless thee. 
And he brought it near to him, and he did eat : and he 

26 brought him wine, and he drank. And his father Isaac 
said unto him. Come near now, and kiss me, my son. 

27 And he came near, and kissed him : and he smelled the 
smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said, 

Is not the smell of my son like the smell of a field 
Which Yahweh hath watered with blessing ? 

29 Nations shall bow before thee, and peoples shall serve 

thee. 
[For in thee all tribes shall be blessed]. 
Blessing thee shall be blessing, and cursing thee ciirse. 

30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end 
of blessing Jacob, that Esau his brother came in from 

31 his hunting. And he said unto his father, Let my father 
arise, and eat of his son's venison, that thy soul may bless 

32 me. And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou ? 
2t2i And he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And 

Isaac trembled very exceedingly, and said, Who then is 
he that hath taken venison, and brought it me, and I 
have eaten of all before thou camest, and have blessed 

36 him ? surely he shall have the blessing. And he [Esau] 
said. Is not he rightly named Jacob (Supplanter) ? for he 
hath supplanted me these two times : he took away my 
birthright ; and behold now he hath taken away my bless- 
ing. 

41 And Esau was at feud with Jacob because of the bless- 
ing wherewith his father blessed him. [And Rebekah 
knew it, and when Isaac was dead she called Jacob and 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 251 

said unto him, Thy brother Esau will seek to kill thee ; 
for thy father is now dead. Arise, flee to Aram Naharaim, 
and abide with my brother Laban] until thy brother's 45 
anger turn away from thee, and he forget that which thou 
hast done to him ; then I will send and fetch thee from 
thence ; why should I be bereaved of you both in one day ? 

The Story of Jacob's service with Laban. How 
HIS wives were won. 

So Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went 28 — 10 
unto Haran. 

And he looked, and behold a well in the field, and, 29^2 
lo, three flocks of sheep lying there by it ; for out of that 
well they watered the flocks : and there was a great stone 
upon the well's mouth. And all the flocks used to gather 3 
there, and then they rolled the stone from the well's 
mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again 
upon the well's mouth in its place. And Jacob said unto 4 
them, My brethren, whence be ye ? And they said. Of 
Haran are we. And he said unto them, Know ye Laban 5 
the son of Nahor ? And they said. We know him. And 6 
he said unto them. Is it well with him ? And they said. 
It is well : and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with 
the sheep. And he said, Lo, it is yet high day, neither 7 
is it time that the cattle should be gathered together : 
water ye the sheep, and go again and feed them. And 8 
they said, We cannot, until all the flocks be gathered 
together, and they [i. e. all the shepherds together] roll 
the stone from the well's mouth ; then we water the sheep. 
While he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her 9 
father's sheep ; for she kept them. And it came to 10 
pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter of Laban 
his mother's brother, and the sheep of Laban his 
mother's brother, that Jacob went near, and [single- 
handed] rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and 
watered the flock of Laban his mother's brother. And 11 
Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up his voice, and wept. 



252 THE JUD^A N PROPHETIC NA RRA TI VE /' , 

12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father's brother, 
and that he was Rebekah's son : and she ran and told 

13 her father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the 
tidings of Jacob his sister's son, that he ran to meet him, 
and embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to 

14 his house. And he told Laban all these things. And 
Laban said to him. Surely thou art my bone and my 
flesh. [And Jacob kept the flock of Laban, and he loved 
Rachel, Laban's younger daughter, and asked her of her 

26 father to wife.] And Laban said, It is not so done in 
our place, to give the younger before the firstborn. [If 
thou wilt serve with me . . . years, then I will give 
thee Leah my firstborn and Rachel also. And Jacob did 
so, and Laban gave him his two daughters to wife.] 

The Story of the Birth of the Patriarchs. How the 

names of the tribes of israel originated. 

Rivalry of Leah and Rachel. 

3 1 And Yah weh saw that Leah was hated, and he opened 

32 her womb : but Rachel was barren. And Leah con- 
ceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben : 
for she said. Because Yahweh hath looked upon my 
affliction {raa/i beonyi) ; for now my husband will love 

T,'^ me. And she conceived again, and bare a son ; and said. 
Because Yahweh hath heard {shama) that I am hated, he 
therefore hath given me this son also. And she called 

34 his name Simeon. And she conceived again, and bare a 
son ; and said, Now this time will my husband be joined 
(from the root lavah) unto me, because I have borne him 

35 three sons : therefore she called his name Levi. And 
she conceived again, and bare a son : and she said. This 
time will I praise (from hodah) Yahweh : therefore she 
called his name Judah ; and she left bearing. 

[And when Rachel saw that she was barren, she said 

unto Jacob, Behold my handmaid Bilhah, go in unto her,] 

30 — 3, 4 that I also may obtain children by her. And she 

gave him Bilhah her handmaid to wife, and Jacob went 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 253 

in unto her. [And Bilhah conceived and bare a son. 
And Rachel said, Yahweh hath judged {dan) me, there- 
fore she called his name Dan.] And Bilhah Rachel's 7 
handmaid bare Jacob a second son. [And Rachel said, 

therefore she called his name Naphtali.] 

When Leah saw that she had left bearing, she took Zil- 9 
pah her handmaid, and gave her to Jacob to wife. And 10 
Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a son. And Leah 11 
said. By [good] Fortune ! and she called his name Gad 
(Fortune). And Zilpah Leah's handmaid bare Jacob a 12 
second son. And Leah said. By my [good] luck ! for the 13 
daughters will say, Thy luck ! {ashere) : and she called his 
name Asher. And Reuben went in the days of wheat 14 
harvest, and found mandrakes in the field, and brought 
them unto his mother Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, 
Give me, I pray thee, of thy son's mandrakes. And she 15 
said unto her. Is it a small matter that thou hast taken 
away my husband ? and wouldest thou take away my 
son's mandrakes also ? And Rachel said, Well then, he 
shall lie with thee to-night for thy son's mandrakes. And 16 
Jacob came from the field in the evening, and Leah went 
out to meet him, and said. Thou must come in unto me ; 
for I have surely hired {sachar) thee with my son's man- 
drakes. And he lay with her that night. [And Leah 
conceived again and bare a son and called his name 
Issachar. And she conceived again a sixth time and 
bare a son, and said]. Now will my husband dwell {zabal) 20b 
with me, because I have borne him six sons : and she 
called his name Zebulun. 

And Yahweh remembered Rachel, and opened her 22 
womb. [And she conceived, and bare a son, and called 
his name Joseph,] saying, Yahweh add {Joseph) to me 24^ 
another son. 

The Story of Jacob's trial of cunning with Laban. 

How the Hebrew won away the wealth 

OF the Syrian shepherd. 

And it came to pass, when Rachel had borne Joseph, 25 



254 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

that Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may 
27 go unto mine own place, and to my country. And Laban 
said unto him, If now I have found favour in thine eyes, 
[tarry : for] I have learned by divination that Yahweh 
hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said unto him, 
Thou knowest how I have served thee, and how thy 

30 cattle hath fared with me. For it was little which thou 
hadst before I came, and it hath increased unto a mul- 
titude ; and Yahweh hath blessed thee whithersoever 
I turned : and now when shall I provide for mine own 

31 house also? And he said, What shall I give thee ? And 
Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me aught : if thou wilt do 
this thing for me, I will again feed thy flock. [What- 
soever is born to the flock henceforth ringstraked, 
speckled or spotted shall be mine ; but the white [laban) 

34 shall be thine.] And Laban said. Behold, I would it 

35 might be according to thy word. And he removed that 
day the he-goats that were ringstraked and spotted, and 
all the she-goats that were speckled and spotted, every 
one that had white in it, and all the black ones among the 

36 sheep, and gave them into the hand of his sons ; and he 
set three days' journey betwixt himself and Jacob : and 

37 Jacob fed the rest of Laban's flocks. And Jacob took 
him rods of fresh poplar, and of the almond and of the 
plane tree ; and peeled white strakes in them, and made 

38 the white appear which was in the rods. And he set 
the rods which he had peeled over against the flocks in 

39 the watering-troughs. And the flocks rutted before the 
rods, and the flocks brought forth ringstraked, speckled, 

40 and spotted. And Jacob separated the lambs, and he put 
his own droves apart, and put them not unto Laban's 

41 flock. And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger of 
the flock did rut, that Jacob laid the rods before the 
eyes of the flock in the troughs, that they might rut among 

42 the rods ; but when the flock were feeble, he put them 
not in : so the feebler were Laban's, and the stronger 

43 Jacob's. And the man increased exceedingly, and had 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 355 

large flocks, and maidservants and menservants, and cam- 
els and asses. 

The Story of Gilead and Mizpah. How a boundary 

WAS FIXED BETWEEN ISRAEL AND ArAM. 

And he heard the words of Laban's sons, saying, 31 — i 
Jacob hath taken away 

All that was our father's ; 

And of that which was our father's 
Hath he gotten him all this wealth. 

And he rose up and passed over the river (Euphrates). 21 
And Laban [pursued after and] came up with Jacob. 25 
Now Jacob had pitched his tent in the mountain [of Miz- 
pah], and Laban with his brethren pitched in the moun- 
tain of Gilead. [And Laban said to Jacob :J 

Why didst thou secretly flee, 27 

And didst steal away from me ; 

And didst not tell me ; 
That I might speed thee with mirth and with sdngs. 

With tabret and harp ? 

And Jacob answered and said unto Laban, 31 

Because I feared ; because I said. 
Lest thou rob me of thy daughters. 

And Laban answered and said unto Jacob : 43 

The daughters are mine, and the children are mine. 
The flocks are my fldcks, mine is all that thou seest. 
What now can I do unto these my daughters ? 
Or unto their children which they have borne ? 
And now come 6n, let us stablish a covenant, 44 

And let us cast up a cairn, I and thou : 
It shall be for a witness between me and thee. 

So he [Laban] said unto his brethren. Gather stones ; and 46 
they took stones and made a cairn, and they did eat [the 



256 THE JUD.EA N PROPHETIC NA ERA TI VE p , 

48 covenant meal] there by the cairn. And Laban said : 
This cairn which thou seest is witness 
Between me and thee this day. 

49a Therefore was the name of it called Galeed (Cairn of 
Witness ; — an attempted etymology of " Gilead"). 

50 If thou shalt afflict my daughters, 

Or add other wives to my daughters, 

No man is present with ns ; 

See these [stones] are witness between me and thee. 

49^ And [Jacob called the name of the place where he had 
pitched his tent] Mizpah (Watching-place), for he said : 

Yahweh watch between me and thee, 
When we are hidden the one from the other. 

The Story of Mahanaim and Jabboq. How Jacob 

wrestled with an angel and was called 

Israel. 

32 — 3 And Jacob sent messengers before him to Esau his 

4 brother unto the land of Seir. And he commanded them, 
saying, Thus shall ye say unto my lord Esau ; Thus saith 
thy servant Jacob, I have sojourned with Laban, and 

5 stayed until now : and I have oxen, and asses, and flocks, 
and menservants and maidservants : and I have sent to 

6 tell my lord, that I may find grace in thy sight. And 
the messengers returned to Jacob, saying, We came to 
thy brother Esau, and moreover he cometh to meet thee, 

7 and four hundred men with him. Then Jacob was gi-eatly 
afraid and was distressed : and he divided the people that 
was with him, and the flocks, and the herds, and the cam- 

8 els, into two companies (ma/ianaim) ; and he said. If Esau 
come to the one company, and smite it, then the company 
which is left shall escape. [Therefore was the name of 

13^ the place called Mahanaim.] And he took of that which 

he had with him a present for Esau his brother ; two 

14 hundred she-goats and twenty he-goats, two hundred 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 257 

ewes and twenty rams, thirty milch camels and their 15 
colts, forty kine and ten bulls, twenty she-asses and ten 
jacks. And he delivered them into the hand of his serv- 16 
ants, every drove by itself : and said unto his servants, 
Pass over before me, and put a space betwixt drove and 
drove. And he commanded the foremost, saying. When 17 
Esau my brother meeteth thee, and asketh thee, saying. 
Whose art thou? and whither goest thou? and whose 
are these before thee ? then thou shalt say, [They be] 18 
thy servant Jacob's ; it is a present sent unto my lord 
Esau : and, behold, he also is behind us. And he com- 19 
manded also the second, and the third, and all that fol- 
lowed the droves, saying, On this manner shall ye speak 
unto Esau, when ye find him ; and ye shall say, More- 20 
over, behold, thy servant Jacob is behind us. For he 
said, I will appease him with the present that goeth 
before me, and afterward I will see his face ; peradven- 
ture he will accept me. So the present passed over 21 
before him : and he himself lodged that night in the 
company. 

And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and 22a 
his two handmaids, and his eleven children, and sent 23 
them over the stream, and sent over that he had. And 24 
Jacob was left alone ; and there wrestled {jeabeq, punning 
etymology of Jabboq) a man with him until the breaking of 
the day. And when he saw that he prevailed not against 25 
him, he touched the hollow of his thigh ; and the hollow of 
Jacob's thigh was strained, as he wrestled with him. And 26 
he said, Let me go, for the day breaketh. And he said, I 
will not let thee go, except thou bless me. And he said 27 
unto him. What is thy name? And he said, Jacob. And 28 
he said. Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but 
Israel (God strives) : for thou hast striven with God and 
with men, and hast prevailed. And Jacob asked him, 29 
and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy name. And he said. 
Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after my name ? And 
he blessed him there. 
17 



258 THE JUD^A N PROP HE TIC NA RRA TI VE p , 

The Story of Penuel. How Jacob met Esau and 
obtained forgiveness. 

31 And the sun rose upon him as he passed over Penuel, 

32 and he was limping upon his thigh. Therefore the 
children of Israel eat not the sinew of the hip which is 
upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day : because he 
touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew of the 
hip. 

33 And Jacob lifted up his eyes, and looked, and, behold, 
Esau came, and with him four hundred men. And he 
divided the children unto Leah, and unto Rachel, and 

2 unto the two handmaids. And he put the handmaids 
and their children foremost, and Leah and her children 

3 after, and Rachel and Joseph hindermost. And he him- 
self passed over before them, and bowed himself to the 
ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 

4-6 And Esau ran to meet him, and embraced him. Then 
the handmaids came near, they and their children, and 

7 they bowed themselves. And Leah also and her child- 
ren came near, and bowed themselves : and after came 
Joseph near and Rachel, and they bowed themselves. 

8 And he said. What meanest thou by all this company 
which I met ? And he said. To find favor in the sight of 

9 my lord. And Esau said, I have enough ; my brother, 

10 let that thou hast be thine. And Israel said. Nay, I 
pray thee, if now I have found favor in thy sight, 
then receive my present at my hand : forasmuch 
as I have seen thy face, as one seeth the face of God 

12 {Feni-el), and thou hast accepted me.* And he said, 
Let us take our journey, and let us go, and I will go 

13 before thee. And he said unto him. My lord knoweth 
that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds 
with me give suck : and if they overdrive them one day, 

14 all the flocks will die. Let my lord, I pray thee, pass over 

* I. e. Since I have propitiated thy wrath therewith, as one obtaineth acceptance 
at the sanctuary. Cf. xxxii. 20 and Ex. xxxiv. 20, last clause. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 259 

before his servant : and I will lead on in my quiet way, 
according to the pace of the cattle that is before me and 
according to the pace of the children, until I come unto 
my lord unto Seir. And Esau said. Let me now leave 15 
with thee some of the folk that are with me. And he 
said. What needeth it ? let me find favor in the sight of 
my lord. So Esau returned that day on his way unto 16 
Seir. And Israel journeyed to Succoth, and built him an 17 
house, and made booths for his cattle : therefore the 
name of the place is called Succoth (Booths). 

The Story of Shechem the Hivite. How Simeon and 
Levi cruelly avenged their sister's dishonour. 

And Shechem, the son of Hamor the Hivite, saw 34 — 2 
Dinah, Jacob's daughter, and took her, and ravished her. 
And his soul clave unto her, and he loved the damsel. 3 
Now Israel heard of this thing while his sons were with 5 
his cattle in the field : and Israel held his peace until they 
came. And the sons of Israel came in from the field when 7 
they heard it : and the men were grieved, and they were 
very wroth, because he had wrought folly in Israel in 
lying with Israel's daughter ; which thing ought not to be 
done. [ . . . ] And Shechem said unto her father and unto 1 1 
her brethren. Let me find favor in your eyes, and what 
ye shall say unto me, I will give. Ask me never so much 12 
bridal-money and gratuity, and I will give according as ye 
shall say unto me : but give me the damsel to wife. And 13 
the sons of Israel answered Shechem with guile. [ . . . ] 
And the young man deferred not to do the thing, because 1 9 
he had delight in Israel's daughter : and he was honoured 
above all the house of his father. [ . . . ] And two of 25 
the sons of Israel, Simeon and Levi, Dinah's brethren, 
took each man his sword, [ . . . ] and slew Hamor and 26 
Shechem his son with the edge of the sword, and took 
Dinah out of Shechem's house, and went forth. And 29^ 
they spoiled all that was in the house. And Israel said to 30 
Simeon and Levi, Ye have troubled me, to bring me into 



260 THE JUD.-EA N PROPHETIC NA RRA TI VE p , 

bad odor with the inhabitants of the land, with the 
Canaanites and the Perizzites : and, I being few in num- 
ber, they will gather themselves together against me and 
smite me ; and I shall be destroyed, I and my house. 
3 1 And they said, Should he deal with our sister as with an 
harlot ? 

The Story of the "Pillar" at Bethel. How 
Israel came to Hebron (?). 

[And Israel journeyed from Shechem, and came to the 
city of Luz. And he lodged there that night.] 
28 — 13 And, behold, Yahweh stood beside him and said, 
I am Yahweh, 

God of Abram thy father, and of Isaac. 
This very land whereupdn thou liest. 
To thee and thy seed will I give it. 

14 And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth. 

Thou shalt spread east and west, north and south ; 
And in thee all the tribes of the land shall be blessed. 

16 And Israel awaked out of his sleep and said. 

Surely Yahweh is in this place. 
And I was in ignorance of it. 

35 — 14 And Israel set up a pillar in the place where he 

spake with him, a pillar of stone : and he poured out a 

libation thereon, and poured oil thereon. 

28 — 19 And he called the name of that place Bethel (House 

35 — 16 of God). And they journeyed from Bethel ; and there 

was still some way to come to Ephrath : and Rachel 

17 travailed, and she had hard labour. And it came to 
pass, when she was in hard labour, that the midwife 
said unto her, Fear not : for this too is a son. 

18 And it came to pass, as her soul was in departing (for 
she died), that she called his name Ben-oni (Son of my 
sorrow) : but his father called him Benjamin (Son of the 

21 right hand). And Israel journeyed, and spread his tent 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 261 

beyond the tower of Eder. And it came to pass, while 22 
Israel dwelt in that land, that Reuben went and lay with 
Bilhah his father's concubine : and Israel heard of it 
[. . . ] 

The Story of the Clans of Judah. 

And it came to pass it that time, that Judah went 38 
down from his brethren, and turned in to a certain 
AduUamite, whose name was Hirah. And Judah saw 2 
there a daughter of a certain Canaanite whose name was 
Shua ; and he took her, and went in unto her. And she 3 
conceived, and bare a son ; and she called his name Er. 
And she conceived again, and bare a son ; and she called 4 
his name Onan. And she yet again bare a son, and called 5 
his name Shelah : and she was at Chezib, when she bare 
him. And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, and 6 
her name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was 7 
wicked in the sight of Yahweh ; and Yahweh slew him. 
And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's 8 
wife, and perform the duty of an husband's brother unto 
her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew 9 
that the seed should not be his ; and it came to pass, when- 
ever he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled 
it on the ground, lest he should give seed to his brother. 
And the thing which he did was evil in the sight of 
Yahweh : and he slew him also. Then said Judah to 1 1 
Tamar his daughter in law. Remain a widow in thy 
father's house, till Shelah my son be grown up : for he 
said. Lest he also die, like his brethren. And Tamar 
went and dwelt in her father's house. And in process of 12 
time Shua's daughter, the wife of Judah, died ; and Judah 
was comforted, and went up unto his sheepshearers to 
Timnah, he and his friend Hirah the AduUamite. And 13 
it was told Tamar, saying. Behold, thy father in law 
goeth up to Timnah to shear his sheep. And she put off 14 
from her the garments of her widowhood, and covered 
herself with her veil, and wrapped herself, and sat in the 



362 THE JUD^A N PROPHETIC NA ERA TI VE J\ 

gate of Enaim, which is by the way to Timnah ; for "sne 
saw that Shelah was grown up, and she was not given 

15 unto him to wife. When Judah saw her, he thought her 

16 to be an harlot ; for she had covered her face. And he 
turned unto her by the way, and said, Go to, I pray thee, 
let me come in unto thee : for he knew not that she was 
his daughter in law. And she said, What wilt thou give 

1 7 me, that thou mayest come in unto me ? And he said, 
I will send thee a kid of the goats from the flock. And 
she said. Wilt thou give me a pledge, till thou send it ?• 

18 And he said. What pledge shall I give thee? And she 
said, Thy signet and thy cord, and thy staff that is in 
thine hand. And he gave them to her, and came in unto 

19 her, and she conceived by him. And she arose, and went 
away, and put off her veil from her, and put on the gar- 

20 ments of her widowhood. And Judah sent the kid of the 
goats by the hand of his friend the Adullamite, to receive 
tlie pledge from the woman's hand : but he found her 

2 1 not. Then he asked the men of her place, saying. Where 
is the harlot {kedeshah) that was at Enaim by the way- 
side ? And they said. There hath been no harlot here. 

22 And he returned to Judah, and said, I have not found 
her ; and also the men of the place said. There hath been 

23 no harlot here. And Judah said. Let her keep it, lest 
we be put to shame : behold, I sent this kid, and thou 

24 hast not found her. And it came to pass about three 
months after, that it was told Judah, saying, Tamar thy 
daughter in law hath played the harlot ; and moreover,, 
behold, she is with child by whoredom. And Judah said, 

25 Bring her forth, and let her be burnt. When she was 
brought forth, she sent to her father in law, saying. By 
the man, whose these are, am I with child : and she said. 
Discern, I pray thee, whose are these, the signet, and the 

26 cords, and the staff. And Judah acknowledged them, 
and said. She is more righteous than I ; forasmuch as I 
gave her not to Shelah my son. And he knew her again 

27 no more. And it came to pass in the time of her travail, 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 26c 

that, behold, twins were in her womb. And it came to 28 
pass, when she travailed, that one put out a hand : and 
the midwife took and bound upon his hand a scarlet 
thread, saying. This came out first. And it came to pass, 29 
as he drew back his hand, that, behold, his brother came 
out : and she said. Wherefore hast thou made a breach 
for thyself? therefore his name was called Perez (Breach). 
And afterward came out his brother, that had the scarlet 30 
thread upon his hand : and his name was called Zerah 
(Putting forth). 

********* 

The Story of the Kings of Edom. 

And these are the kings that reigned in the land of 36 — 31 
Edom, before there reigned any king over the children 
of Israel. And Bela the son of Beor reigned in Edom ; 32 
and the name of his city was Dinhabah. And Bela died, 33 
and Jobab the son of Zerah of Bozrah reigned in his 
stead. And Jobab died, and Husham of the land of the 34 
Temanites reigned in his stead. And Husham died, and 35 
Hadad the son of Bedad, who smote Midian in the field 
of Moab, reigned in his stead : and the name of his city 
was Avith. And Hadad died, and Samlah of Masrekah 36 
reigned in his stead. And Samlah died, and Shaul of 37 
Rehoboth by the River reigned in his stead. And Shaul 38 
died, and Baal-hanan the son of Achbor reigned in his 
stead. And Baal-hanan the son of Achbor died, and 39 
Hadar reigned in his stead : and the name of his city was 
Pau ; and his wife's nanie was Mehetabel, the daughter 
of Hatred, the daughter of Me-zahab. 

The Story of Joseph. How his brethren sold him 

TO the Ishmaelites and these brought 

him into Egypt. 

Now Israel loved Joseph more than all his children, 37 — 3 
because he was the son of his old age : and he made 
him a sleeved tunic. And his brethren saw that their 4 



264 THE JUDjEA N PROPHETIC NA ERA TI VE J' , 

father loved him more than all his brethren ; and they 
hated him, and could not speak peaceably unto him. 

12 And his brethren went to feed their father's flock in 

13 Shechem. And Israel said unto Joseph, Do not thy breth- 
ren feed the flock in Shechem ?■ come, and I will send thee 

i4(^ unto them. So he sent him out of the vale of Hebron, 
18 and he came to Shechem. And they saw him afar off, and 

before he came near unto them, they conspired against 
21 him to slay him. And Judah heard it, and delivered 

him out of their hand ; and said, Let us not take his life. 
2^d [And they took off] the sleeved tunic that was on him, 

25 and they lifted up their eyes and looked, and, behold, a tra- 
velling company of Ishmaelites came from Gilead, with 
their camels bearing tragacanth and balm and ladanum, 

26 going to carry it down to Egypt. And Judah said unto 
his brethren, What profit is it if we slay our brother and 

27 conceal his blood? Come, and let us sell him to the 
Ishmaelites, and let not our hand be upon him ; for he is 
our brother, our flesh. And his brethren hearkened unto 

28(5 him, and sold Joseph to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces 

32 of silver. And they sent the sleeved tunic to their father ; 

^;^^ [and when Israel saw it he said,] Joseph is without doubt 

35 torn in pieces. And all his sons and all his daughters 

rose up to comfort him ; but he refused to be comforted ; 

and he said, Nay, I will go down mourning to the lower 

regions to my son. So his father wept for him. 

The Story of the Egyptian woman. How Joseph 

WAS TEMPTED AND UNJUSTLY IMPRISONED. 

39 And Joseph was brought down to Egypt ; and an 
Egyptian bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites, 

2 which had brought him down thither. And Yahweh was 
with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man ; and he was 

3 in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master 
saw that Yahweh was with him, and that Yahweh made 

4 all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found 
favor in his sight : and he made him overseer over his 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 265 

house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it 5 
came to pass from the time that he made him overseer 
in his house, and over all that he had, that Yahweh 
blessed the Egyptian's house for Joseph's sake ; and the 
blessing of Yahweh was upon all that he had, in the 
house and in the field. And he did not concern him- 6 
self about anything in the house beside him, except 
the bread which he himself ate. And Joseph was comely, 
and well favoured. And it came to pass after these 7 
things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph ; 
and she said, Lie with me. But he refused, and said 8 
unto his master's wife. Behold, my master doth not 
concern himself about what is in the house beside 
me, and he hath put all that he hath into my hand ; 
there is none greater in this house than I ; neither hath 9 
he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou 
art his wife : how then can I do this great wickedness, 
and sin against God ? And it came to pass, as she spake 10 
to Joseph day by day, that he hearkened not unto her, to 
lie by her. And it came to pass about this time, that he 1 1 
went into the house to do his work ; and there was none 
of the men of the house there within. And she caught 1 2 
him by his garment, saying. Lie with me : and he left his 
garment in her hand, and fled, and got him out. And 13 
it came to pass, when she saw that he had left his gar- 
ment in her hand, and was fled forth, that she called 14 
unto the men of her house, and spake unto them, saying. 
See, he hath brought in an Hebrew -unto us to mock us ; 
he came in unto me to lie with me, and I cried with a 
loud voice : and it came to pass, when he heard that I 15 
lifted up my voice and cried, that he left his garment by 
me, and fled, and got him out. And she laid up his gar- 16 
ment by her, until his master came home. And she spake 1 7 
unto him according to these words, saying, The Hebrew 
servant, which thou hast brought unto us, came in unto 
me to mock me : and it came to pass, as I lifted up my 18 
voice and cried, that he left his garment by me, and fled 



266 THE JUDJ^A N PROPHETIC NA ERA TI VE /' , 

19 out. And it came to pass, when his master heard the 
words of his wife, which she spake unto him, saying, 
After this manner did thy servant to me ; that his wrath 

20 was kindled. And Joseph's master took him, and put 
him into the prison : and he was there in the prison. 

21 But Yahweh was with Joseph, and shewed kindness unto 
him, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of 

22 the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to 
Joseph's hand all the prisoners that were in the prison ; 

23 and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The 
keeper of the prison looked not to anything that was 
under his hand, because Yahweh was with him ; and that 
which he did, Yahweh made it to prosper. 

The Story of the Butler's and Baker's dreams. 
How Joseph interpreted Pharaoh's dream 

AND WAS MADE RULER OF EgYPT. 

40 — I And the butler of the king of Egypt and his baker 

offended their lord the king of Egypt, [and he cast them] 

3 into the prison, the place where Joseph was bound. 

5^ [And each of them dreamed a dream,] the butler and the 
baker of the king of Egypt, which were bound in the 
prison. [And Joseph interpreted their dreams ; and as 
he interpreted, so it came to pass. For unto the baker 
he had said, Pharaoh will hang thee on a tree ; but unto 
the butler he said, Pharaoh will restore thee to thine 
office. But have me in remembrance, I pray thee, when 
thou art delivered hence, for I was sold into bondage 

15 unjustly,] and here also have I done nothing that they 
should put me into the dungeon. [Yet the butler of the 
king of Egypt forgat Joseph when he was restored. 

41 And it came to pass thereafter that Pharaoh king of 
Egypt dreamed a dream, and no man could interpret it. 
Then did the king's butler remember Joseph, and told 

14 Pharaoh. So Pharaoh sent for Joseph.] And they 
brought him hastily out of the dungeon, [and he came 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 267 

into Pharaoh's presence. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, 
I have heard say of thee that thou canst interpret dreams. 
Behold, I saw in my dream, and lo, seven ears came up 
upon one stalk, full and good ; and, behold, seven ears, 
withered, thin and blasted with the east wind, came up 
after them ; and the thin ears swallowed up the good 
ears. And Joseph said. This is the interpretation of the 
dream. Behold there come seven years of great plenty 
throughout all the land of Egypt. And there shall arise 
after them seven years of famine,] and the plenty shall 31 
not be noticed in the land by reason of that famine which 
followeth, for it shall be very grievous. Let Pharaoh 34^ 
make [store-cities,] and let them lay up corn under the 35*^ 
hand of Pharaoh for food in the cities, and let them keep 
it. [ . . . ] And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have 41 
set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took 42 
off his signet ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph's 
hand, and arrayed him in garments of byssus, and put a 
gold chain about his neck ; and he made him to ride in 43 
the second chariot which he had ; and they cried before 
him, Abrech : and he set him over all the land of Egypt. 
And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I am Pharaoh, and without 44 
thee shall no man lift up his hand or his foot in all the 
land of Egypt. And Pharaoh called Joseph's name 45 
Zaphenath-paneah ; and he gave him to wife Asenath the 
daughter of Poti-phera priest of On. And Joseph went 46^^ 
out from the presence of Pharaoh, and went throughout 
all the land of Egypt. And he gathered up all the food 48 
of the seven years which were in the land of Egypt, and 
laid up food in the cities : the food of the field, which 
was round about every city, laid he up in the same. 
And the seven years of famine began to come, according 54^ 
as Joseph had said. And when all the land of Egypt 55 
was famished, the people cried to Pharaoh for bread : 
and Pharaoh said unto all the Egyptians, Go unto 
Joseph ; what he saith to you, do. And the famine was 56 
over all the face of the earth : and Joseph opened all the 



268 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

storehouses, and sold unto the Egyptians ; and the 
famine was sore in the land of Eg}^pt. 

How Joseph's brethren came to Egypt to buy corn. 

42 — 5 And the sons of Israel came to buy among those that 
came : for the famine had reached the land of Canaan. 

6 Now it was Joseph that sold to all the people of the land ; 

7 and Joseph saw his brethren, and he recognized them, but 
made himself strang'e unto them, and said unto them. 
Whence come ye ? And they said. From the land of 
Canaan to buy food. [And* he asked them concerning 
their kindred, saying. Have ye a father or a brother? 
And they said unto him, My lord, we have a father, an 
old man, and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his 
brother is dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and 
his father loveth him. And Joseph said unto them, 
Bring him down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon 
him. And they said. My lord, the lad cannot leave his 
father : for if he should leave his father, his father would 
die. And he said unto them. Except your youngest 
brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no 
more. And Joseph commanded to fill their sacks with 
food, as much as they could carry, and to put every 
man's money in his sack's mouth. As soon as the morn- 
ing was light, the men were sent away, they and their 
asses. And at evening they came to the lodging place,] 

27 And as one of them opened his sack to give his ass prov- 
ender in the lodging place, he espied his money ; and, 

28 behold, it was in the mouth of his sack. And he 
said unto his brethren. My money is returned ; and, lo, 
it is even in my sack. [Andf his brethren also opened 
their sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in the 
mouth of his sack, his money in full weight. And they 
came unto their father, and told him all that had befallen 
them.] 

* Supplied from xliii. yf and xliv. i8ff. 
+ Supplied from xliii. zi. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 26£ 

How Joseph's brethren came the second time, 

AND HE revealed HIMSELF TO THEM. 

And the famine was sore in the land. And it came to 43 
pass, when they had eaten up the com which they had 2 
brought out of Egypt, their father said unto them. Go 
again, buy us a little food. And Judah spake unto him, 3 
saying, The man did solemnly protest unto us, saying, 
Ye shall not see my face, except your brother be with 
you. If thou wilt send our brother with us, we will go 4 
down and buy thee food : but if thou wilt not send him, 5 
we will not go down : for the man said unto us. Ye shall 
not see my face, except your brother be with you. And 6 
Israel said, Wherefore dealt ye so ill with me, as to tell 
the man whether ye had yet a brother ? And they said, 7 
The man asked straitly concerning ourselves, and con- 
cerning our kindred, saying. Is your father yet alive? 
have ye [another] brother ? and we told him according to 
the tenor of these words : could we in any wise know 
that he would say. Bring your brother down ? And 42 — 38 
he said. My son shall not go down with you; for his 
brother is dead, and he only is left : if mischief befall 
him by the way in the which ye go, then shall ye bring 
down my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. And 43 — 8 
Judah said unto Israel his father, Send the lad with me, 
and we will arise and go ; that we may live, and not die, 
both we, and thou, and also our little ones. I will be 9 
surety for him ; of my hand shalt thou require him : if I 
bring him not unto thee, and set him before thee, then 
let me bear the blame for ever : for except we had lin- 10 
gered, surely we had now returned a second time. And 1 1 
their father Israel said unto them. If it be so now, do this ; 
take of the choice fruits of the land in your vessels, and 
carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little 
honey, tragacanth and ladanum, pistachio - nuts and al- 
monds : and take double money in your hand ; and the 1 2 
money that was returned in the mouth of your sacks carry 



270 THE JUDjEA N PROPHETIC NA ERA TIVE J\ 

again in your hand ; peradventure it was an oversight : 
13 take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man. 

15 And the men took that present, and they took double 
money in their hand, and Benjamin ; and rose up, and 

16 went down to Egypt, and stood before Joseph. And when 
Joseph saw Benjamin with them, he said to the steward 
of his house. Bring the men into the house, and slay, and 
make ready ; for the men shall dine with me at noon. 

17 And the man did as Joseph bade ; and the man brought 

18 the men into Joseph's house. And the men were afraiu, 
because they were brought into Joseph's house ; and 
they said. Because of the money that was returned in our 
sacks at the first time are we brought in ; that he may 
seek occasion against us, and fall upon us, and take us 

19 for bondmen, and our asses. And they came near to the 
steward of Joseph's house, and they spake unto him at 

20 the door of the house, and said. Oh my lord, we came 

2 1 indeed down at the first time to buy food : and it came 
to pass, when we came to the lodging place, that we 
opened our sacks, and, behold, every man's money was in 
the mouth of his sack, our money in full weight : and we 

22 have brought it again in our hand. And other money 
have we brought down in our hand to buy food : we 

23 know not who put our money in our sacks. And he said. 
Peace be to you, fear not : your God, and the God of your 
father, hath given you treasure in your sacks : I had your 

24 money. And the man brought the men into Joseph's 
house, and gave them water, and they washed their feet ; 

25 and he gave their asses provender. And they made 
ready the present against Joseph came at noon : for they 

26 heard that they should eat bread there. And when 
Joseph came home, they brought him the present which 
was in their hand into the house, and bowed down them- 

27 selves to him to the earth. And he asked them of their 
welfare, and said. Is your father well, the old man of 

28 whom ye spake ? Is he yet alive ? And they said, Thy 
servant our father is well, he is yet alive. And they 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 271 

bowed the head, and made obeisance. And he lifted up 29 
his eyes, and saw Benjamin his brother, his mother's son, 
and said. Is this your youngest brother, of whom ye 
spake unto me ? And he said, God be gracious unto thee, 
my son. And Joseph made haste ; for his heart did 30 
yearn upon his brother : and he sought where to weep ; 
and he entered into his chamber, and wept there. And 31 
he washed his face, and came out ; and he refrained him- 
self, and said. Set on bread. And they set on for him by 32 
himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyp- 
tians, which did eat with him, by themselves : because 
the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews ; 
for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians. And ^;i 
they sat before him, the firstborn according to his birth- 
right, and the youngest according to his youth : and the 
men marvelled one with another. And he took [and 34 
sent] messes unto them from before him : but Benjamin's 
mess was five times so much as any of theirs. And they 
drank, and were drunken with him. 

And he commanded the steward of his house, saying, 44: 
Fill the men's sacks with food, as much as they can 
carry, and put every man's money in his sack's mouth. 
And put my cup, the silver cup, in the sack's mouth of 2 
the youngest, and his corn money. And he did accord- 
ing to the word that Joseph had spoken. As soon as the 3 
morning was light, the men were sent away, they and 
their asses. Now when they were gone out of the city, 4 
and were not yet far off, Joseph said unto his steward. 
Up, follow after the men ; and when thou dost overtake 
them, say unto them. Wherefore have ye rewarded evil 
for good ? Why have ye stolen my silver cup ? Is not 5 
this it in which my lord drinketh, and whereby he indeed 
divineth ? ye have done evil in so doing. And he over- 6 
took them, and he spake unto them these words. And 7 
they said unto him, Wherefore speaketh my lord such 
words as these ? God forbid that thy servants should do 
such a thing. Behold, the money, which we found in our 8 



272 THE JUDjEAN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

sacks' mouths, we brought again unto thee out of the 

land of Canaan : hbw then should we steal out of thy 

9 lord's house silver or gold ? With whomsoever of thy 

servants it be found, let him die, and we also will be my 

10 lord's bondmen. And he said, Now also let it be accord- 
ing unto your words : he with whom it is found shall be 

11 my bondman ; and ye shall be blameless. Then they 
hasted, and took down every man his sack to the ground 

12 and opened every man his sack. And he searched, begin- 
ning at the eldest, and leaving off at the youngest : and the 

13 cup was found in Benjamin's sack. Then they rent their 
clothes, and laded every man his ass, and returned to the 

14 city. And Judah and his brethren came to Joseph's 
house ; and he was yet there : and they fell before him 

15 on the ground. And Joseph said unto them, What deed 
is this that ye have done ? know ye not that such a man 

16 as I can indeed divine ? And they said. What shall we 
say unto my lord ? what shall we speak ? or how shall we 
clear ourselves ? God hath found out the iniquity of thy 
servants : behold, we are my lord's bondmen, both we, 

17 and he also in whose hand the cup is found. And he 
said, God forbid that I should do so : the man in whose 
hand the cup is found, he shall be my bondman ; but as 
for you, get you up in peace unto your father. 

18 Then Judah came near unto him, and said. Oh my 
lord, let thy servant, I pray thee, speak a word in my 
lord's ears, and let not thine anger burn against thy 

19 servant : for thou art even as Pharaoh. My lord asked 
his servants, saying. Have ye a father, or a brother ? 

20 And we said unto my lord, We have a father, an old man, 
and a child of his old age, a little one ; and his brother is 
dead, and he alone is left of his mother, and his father 

2 1 loveth him. And thou saidst unto thy servants. Bring him 

22 down unto me, that I may set mine eyes upon him. And 
we said unto my lord. The lad cannot leave his father : 
for if he should leave his father, his father would die. 

23 And thou saidst unto thy servants. Except your youngest 



CIRC. Soo B. C. 273 

brother come down with you, ye shall see my face no 
more. And it came to pass when we came up unto thy 24 
servant my father, we told him the words of my lord. 
And our father said. Go again, buy us a little food. 25 
And we said, We cannot go down : if our youngest 26 
brother be with us, then will we go down : for we may 
not see the man's face, except our youngest brother be 
with us. And thy servant my father said unto us, Ye 27 
know that my wife bare me two sons : and the one went 28 
out from me, and I said, Surely he is torn in pieces ; and 
I have not seen him since : and if ye take this one also 29 
from me, and mischief befall him, ye shall bring down 
my gray hairs with sorrow to the grave. Now therefore 30 
when I come to thy servant my father, and the lad be not 
with us ; seeing that his life is bound up in the lad's life ; 
it shall come to pass, when he seeth that the lad is 31 
missing, that he will die : and thy servant shall bring 
down the gray hairs of thy servant our father with sor- 
row to the grave. For thy servant became surety for 32 
the lad unto my father, saying, If I bring him not unto 
thee, then shall I bear the blame to my father for ever. 
Now therefore, let thy servant, I pray thee, abide instead 33 
of the lad a bondman to my lord ; and let the lad go up 
with his brethren. For how shall I go up to my father, 34 
and the lad be not with me ? lest I see the evil that shall 
come on my father. 

Then Joseph could not refrain himself before all them 45 
that stood by him ; and he cried. Cause every man to go 
out from me. And he wept aloud, and the house of 2 
Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his brethren, 4 
Come near to me, I pray you. And they came near. 
And he said, I am Joseph your brother, whom ye sold 
into Egypt. And now be not grieved that ye sold me 
thither. [Go up now] and tell my father of all my glory 13 
in Egypt, and of all that ye have seen, [and say to him. 
Come down unto me], and thou shalt dwell in the land 10 
of Goshen, and thou shalt be near unto me, thou, and thy 



m THE JUD^A N PROP HE TIC NA RRA TIVE J\ 

children, and thy children's children, and thy flocks, and 
133 thy herds, and all that thou hast : and ye shall haste and 
14 bring down my father hither. And he fell upon his 
brother Benjamin's neck, and wept ; and Benjamin wept 
upon his neck. [And the sons of Israel took their jour- 
ney, and came unto their father, and told him all the 
28 words of Joseph.] And Israel said, It is enough ; Joseph 
my son is yet alive : I will go and see him before I die. 

How Israel went down into Egypt. 

46 And Israel took his journey with all that he had [to 

28 go down into Egypt to Joseph]. And he sent Judah 
before him unto Joseph, to Heroopolis unto Goshen ; 

29 and they came into the land of Goshen. And Joseph 
made ready his chariot, and went up to meet his father, 
to Goshen ; and he presented himself unto him, and fell 

30 on his neck, and wept on his neck a good while. And 
Israel said unto Joseph, Now let me die, since I have 

31 seen thy face, that thou art yet alive. And Joseph said 
unto his brethren, and unto his father's house, I will go 
up, and tell Pharaoh, and will say unto him, My brethren, 
and my father's house, which were in the land of Canaan, 

32 are come unto me ; and the men are shepherds ; and they 
have brought their flocks, and their herds, and all that 

33 they have. And it shall come to pass, when Pharaoh 
shall call you, and shall say, What is your occupa- 

34 tion ? that ye shall say, Thy servants have been keepers 
of cattle from our youth even until now, both we, and 
our fathers : that ye may dwell in the land of Goshen ; 
for every shepherd is an abomination unto the Egyptians. 

47 Then Joseph went in and told Pharaoh, and said. My 
father and brethren, and their flocks, and their herds, 
and all that they have, are come out of the land of 
Canaan ; and, behold, they are in the land of Goshen. 

2 And from among his brethren he took five men, and pre- 

3 sented them unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto his 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 375 

brethren, ' What is your occupation ? And they said 
unto Pharaoh, Thy servants are shepherds, both we, 
and our fathers. To sojourn in the land are we come ; 4 
for there is no pasture for thy servants' flocks ; for 
the famine is sore in the land of Canaan : now there- 
fore, we pray thee, let thy servants dwell in the land 
of Goshen. [And Pharaoh said unto Joseph,] in the 
land of Goshen let them dwell : and if thou knowest db 
any able men among them, then make them rulers over 
my cattle. So Israel dwelt in the land of Goshen. 27 

And there was no bread in all the land ; for the famine 13 
was very sore, so that the land of Egypt fainted by rea- 
son of the famine. And Joseph gathered up all the 14 
money that was found in the land of Eg}^pt, for the corn 
which they bought : and Joseph brought the money into 
Pharaoh's house. And when the money was all spent in 15 
the land of Egypt, all the Egyptians came unto Joseph, 
and said, Give us bread : for why should we die in thy 
presence? for there is no more money. And Joseph 16 
said. Give your cattle ; and I will give you for your 
cattle, if there is no more money. And they brought 17 
their cattle unto Joseph : and Joseph gave them bread 
in exchange for the horses, and for the flocks, and 
for the herds, and for the asses : and he fed them with 
bread in exchange for all their cattle for that year. 
And when that year was ended, they came unto him 18 
the second year, and said unto him. We will not hide 
from my lord, how that our money is all spent ; and the 
herds of cattle are my lord's ; there is nought left in the 
sight of my lord, but our bodies, and our lands : where- 19 
fore should we die before thine eyes, both we and our 
land ? buy us and our land for bread, and we and our 
land will be servants unto Pharaoh : and give us seed, 
that we may live, and not die, and that the land be not 
desolate. So Joseph bought all the land of Egypt for 20 
Pharaoh ; for the Egyptians sold every man his field, 
because the famine was sore upon them : and the land 



276 THE JUD^A N PROPHETIC NA RRA TI VE /' , 

21 became Pharaoh's. And as for the people, he removed 
them to the cities from one end of the border of Egypt 

22 even to the other end thereof. Only the land of the 
priests bought he not ; for the priests had a portion from 
Pharaoh, and did eat their portion which Pharaoh gave 

23 them ; wherefore they sold not their land. Then Joseph 
said unto the people, Behold, I have bought you this 
day and your land for Pharaoh : lo, here is seed for you, 

24 and ye shall sow the land. And it shall come to pass at 
the ingatherings, that ye shall give a fifth unto Pharaoh, 
and four parts shall be your own, for seed of the field, 
and for your food, and for them of your households, and 

25 for food for your little ones. And they said. Thou hast 
saved our lives : let us find favor in the sight of my lord, 

26 and we will be Pharaoh's servants. And Joseph made it 
a statute concerning the land of Egypt unto this day, 
that Pharaoh should have the fifth ; only the land of the 
priests alone became not Pharaoh's. 

The Story of the Blessing of Israel. How Ephraim 

AND MaNASSEH were RECEIVED AS TRIBES. 

29 And the time drew near that Israel must die : and he 
called his son Joseph, and said unto him. If now I have 
found favor in thy sight, put, I pray thee, thy hand 
under my thigh, and deal kindly and truly with me ; 

30 bury me not, I pray thee, in Egypt : but when I sleep 
with my fathers, thou shalt carry me out of Egypt, and 

(50 — 5) bury me in [my grave which I have digged for me 
in the land of Canaan]. And he said, I will do as thou 

31 hast said. And he said. Swear unto me: and he sware 
unto him. And Israel bowed himself upon the bed's 
head. 

4:8 — 2b And Israel strengthened himself, and sat upon the 
8«, ()b bed. And Israel beheld Joseph's sons. And he said, 
Bring them, I pray thee, unto me, and I will bless them. 
10 Now the eyes of Israel were dim for age, so that he 
13 could not see. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 277 

his right hand towards Israel's left hand, and Manasseh 
in his left hand towards Israel's right hand, and brought 
them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right 14 
hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the 
younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, cross- 
ing his hands; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And 17 
when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon 
the head of Ephraim, it displeased him : and he held up 
his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto 
Manasseh's head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not 18 
so, my father : for this is the firstborn ; put thy right 
hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, 19 
I know it, my son, I know it. 

He shall also become a people. 

And he shall also be great ; 

Nevertheless his younger brother 

Shall surpass him in greatness, 

And his seed be a fulness of nations. 

[And Israel called his sons], and said : Gather your- 49 
selves together, that I may tell you that which shall be- 
fall you in the latter days. 

Assemble, and hear, sons of Jacob ; 2 

And hearken to Israel your father. 

Reuben, my firstborn art thou, 3 

My might, and firstfruits of my strength ; 
Pre-eminence of dignity, pre-eminence of power. 
Wanton as water, thou shalt not have the pre-emi- 4 

nence. 
For thou mountedst the bed of thy father. 
And defiledst his couch [...].* 

Simeon and Levi are brethren, 5 

Weapons of violence their (...?) 

My soul, come not to their council, 6 

My glory, join not their assembly. 

* Vulgate, Et maculasti stratum ejus. 



278 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

For men they sl6w in their anger, 
And houghed dxen in their self-will. 

7 Ciirsed be their rage, for its fierceness, 
And their wrath, for its cruelty : 

I will divide them in Jacob, 
And scatter them in Israel. 

8 Thee, Judah (Praise), thy brethren shall praise ; 
Thy hand* be on the neck of thy fdes : 

Thy father's sdns shall bow down to thee. 

9 The whelp of a Hon is Judah, 

From the prey art thou gone up, my sdn. 
He couches, he lies ddwn like a lion. 
Like a lioness ; who dares arouse him ? 

10 The sceptre shall not pass from Jiidah, 
Nor the staff from between his feet, 
Until he shall rdach unto (...?), 
And tribes not his dwn shall obey him. 

1 1 Binding his ass to the vine. 

And his edit to the chdice of the vines ; 
He shall w^sh his garments in wine, 
His rdbe in the bldod of the grape. 

12 His ^yes shall be reddened with wine, 
And his t^eth shall be white with milk. 

13 Zebulun shall dw^ll at the sea-beach, 
And a b^ach for the ships shall he b^ ; 
And his bdrder shall be upon Zidon. 

14 A strdng-boned dss is Issachar, 
Kneeling between the dung-hills. 

15 And he found his resting-place gdod, 
And the land to be pleasant ; 

So he bdwed his shoulder to bear. 
And became a slave under taskwork. 

* Seemingly another play upon the name Judah, the Hebrew word for "hand' 
(yad) containing the same letters except the last. Cf . Dt. xxxiii. 7. 



CIRC. 800 B. C. 279 

Dan (Judge) shall jiidge his people 16 

As 6ne of the tribes of Israel. 

Let Dan be a snake in the way, 17 

An adder in the path, 

Biting the h^els of the hdrse. 

So that backward falleth the rider. 

I await thy deliverance, O Yahweh ! 18 

G^d, a crowd (gedud) shall crdwd (gud) him, 19 

But h6 shall crdwd on their rear. 

Asher, his br6ad shall be fat, 20 

And dainties for kings he shall yield. 

Naphtali is a slim dak, 21 

That sendeth forth gdodly shdots. 

A fruitful tree's {phrath for Ephrath ?) dffshoot is 22 

Jdseph, 
A fruitful tr^e by a fountain ; 
His branches run dver the wall. 

The archers have sdrely bes^t him, 23 

Shot at and harassed him. 

But his bdw abdde in strength, 24 

And the arms of his h^nds were made strdng 

By the hands of the Strdng One of Jacob, 

By the ^rms(?) of the Rdck of Israel. 

By thy father's Gdd who shall help thee, 25 

By El-Shaddai, for h6 shall bl^ss thee, 
With blessings of h6aven from abdve. 
Blessings of th' abyss couched beneath. 
Blessings of breasts and womb. 

Thy father's blessings surpass 26 

The blessings of th' ancient mountains. 
The wealth of th' eternal hills : 



280 THE JUD^AN PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE J\ 

They shall be on the head of Joseph, 
. On the temples of the prince 'mid his brethren. 

27 Benjamin, a wolf that ravineth ; 

In the morning devouring the prey, 
• And at even dividing the spoil. 

28 All these are the twelve tribes of Israel : and this is it 
T^T^ that their father spake unto them. And he gathered up 

his feet into the bed [and gave up the ghost] 

The Story of Israel's Death and Burial. 

50 And Joseph fell upon his father's face, and wept upon 

2 him, and kissed him. And Joseph commanded his serv- 
ants the physicians to embalm his father : and the 

3 physicians embalmed Israel. And forty days were ful- 
filled for him ; for so are fulfilled the days of embalming : 
and the Egyptians wept for him threescore and ten days. 

4 And when the days of weeping for him were past, Joseph 
spake unto the house of Pharaoh, saying, If now I have 
found favor in your eyes, speak, I pray you, in the ears 

5 of Pharaoh, saying. My father made me swear, saying, 
Lo, I die : in my grave which I have digged for me in 
the land of Canaan, there shalt thou bury me. Now 
therefore let me go up, I pray thee, and bury my father, 

6 and I will come again. And Pharaoh said. Go up, and 

7 bury thy father, according as he made thee swear. And 
Joseph went up to bury his father : and with him went 
up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, 

8 and all the elders of the land of Egypt, and all the house 
of Joseph, and his brethren, and his father's house : only 
their little ones, and their flocks, and their herds, they 

9 left in the land of Goshen. And there went up with him 
both chariots and horsemen : and it was a very great 

10 company. And they came to the threshing-floor of Atad, 
which is beyond Jordan, and there the)' lamented with a 
very great and sore lamentation : and he made a mourn- 



CIRC. 800 B. c. a»i 

ing for his father seven days. And when the inhabitants 1 1 
of the land, the Canaanites, saw the mourning, they said, 
This is a grievous mourning to the Egyptians : wherefore 
the name of [the place] was called Abelmizraim (as if= 
Mourning {ebel) of the Egyptians), which is beyond Jor- 
dan. 

And Joseph returned into Egypt, he, and his brethren, 14 
and all that went up with him to bury his father, after he 
had buried his father. 



THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRATIVE E, 
CIRC. 750 B. C. 

The Story of the Call of Abraham. How God brought 

the father of the hebrews from beyond the river, 

and promised to make them a great nation. 

. . . [Of old time the fathers dwelt beyond the 
River, even Terah the father of Abraham and the father 
of Nahor, and they served strange gods. And God took 
Abraham from beyond the River, and led him forth 
from his father's house unto Shechem in the land of 
Canaan.*] . . . 

After these things God came unto Abraham in a 15 — i 
vision, saying, 

Abraham, b^ not afraid ; 
I am a shield unto th^e : 
Very gr^at shall be thy reward. 

And Abraham said. Behold, to me thou hast given no 3a 
seed, and he that shall be possessor of my house is 2b 
Eliezer(?). And he brought him forth abroad, and said, 5 
Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be 
able to tell them : and he said unto him. So shall thy 
seed be. 

The Story of Abraham and the Philistines. How 
Sarah was taken and restored. 

And Abraham journeyed from thence toward the land 20 
of the Negeb, and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur ; and 
he sojourned in Gerar. And Abraham said of Sarah his 2 
wife. She is my sister : and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, 
and took Sarah. [But God suffered him not to touch 
her, for he smote Abimelech and his house with a great 

* Supplied from Josh. xxiv. 2 ; Gen. xx. 13. 



384 THE EPHRA I MITE PROP HE TIC NA RRA Tl VE E, 

plague, and all the women of Abimelech's house were 

3 barren.*] And God came to Abimelech in a dream of 
the night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead 
man, because of the woman which thou hast taken ; for 

4 she is a man's wife. Now Abimelech had not come near 
her : and he said. Lord, wilt thou slay even a righteous 

5 nation ? Said he not himself unto me. She is my sister ? 
and she, even she herself said. He is my brother : in the 
integrity of my heart and the innocency of my hands 

6 have I done this. And God said unto him in the dream. 
Yea, I know that in the integrity of thy heart thou hast 
done this, and I also withheld thee from sinning against 

7 me : therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now 
therefore restore the man's wife ; for he is a prophet, and 
he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live : and if thou 
restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, 

8 thou, and all that are thine. And Abimelech rose early 
in the morning, and called all his servants, and told all 
these things in their ears : and the men were sore afraid. 

9 Then Abimelech called Abraham, and said unto him. 
What hast thou done unto us ? and wherein have I sinned 
against thee, that thou hast brought on me and on my 
kingdom a great sin ? thou hast done deeds unto me that 

I o ought not to be done. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, 

What hadst thou in view, that thou hast done this thing ? 

I I And Abraham said. Because I thought. Surely the fear 
of God is not in this place ; and they will slay me for my 

12 wife's sake. (And moreover she is of a truth my sister, 
the daughter of my father, but not the daughter of my 

13 mother ; and she became my wife :f ) and it came to pass, 
when God caused me to wander from my father's house, 
that I said unto her. This is thy kindness which thou 
shalt shew unto me ; at every place whither we shall 

14 come, say of me. He is my brother. And Abimelech 

* Supplied according to vv. 6 and 17. 

tVersei2is obviously parenthetic; perhaps introduced by E into his material 
from apologetic motives. 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 285 

took sheep and oxen, and gave them unto Abraham, and 
restored him Sarah his wife. And Abimelech said, Be- 15 
hold, my land is before thee : dwell where it pleaseth 
thee. And unto Sarah he said. Behold, I have given thy 16 
brother a thousand pieces of silver : behold, it is for thee 
a covering of the eyes to all that are with thee ; and in 
respect of all thou art righted (?). And Abraham prayed 17 
unto God : and God healed Abimelech, and his wife, 
and his maidservants ; and they bare children. 

The Story of Isaac and Ishmael. How Hagar was 

DRIVEN OUT. 

[And it came to pass after these things, that Sarah 
conceived when she was old, and bare Abraham a 
son.] And Sarah said, God hath prepared laughter 21 — 6 
(from the same stem as Isaac) for me, [and she called his 
name Isaac] And the child grew, and was weaned : 8 
and Abraham made a great feast on the day that Isaac 
was weaned. And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the 9 
Egyptian, which she had borne unto Abraham, playing 
(from the same stem as Isaac). Wherefore she said unto 10 
Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son : for the 
son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, 
even with Isaac. And the thing was very grievous in 11 
Abraham's sight on account of his son. And God said 12 
unto Abraham, Let it not be grievous in thy sight be- 
cause of the lad, and because of thy bondwoman ; in all 
that Sarah saith unto thee, hearken unto her voice ; for 
in Isaac shall thy seed be called. And also of the son of 13 
the bondwoman will I make a nation, because he is thy 
seed. And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and 14 
took bread and a skin of water, and gave it unto Hagar, 
and put the child on her shoulder, and sent her away : 
and she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of 
Beer-sheba. And the water in the bottle was spent, and 15 
she cast the child under one of the shrubs. And she 16 
went, and sat her down over against him a good way off, 



386 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

as it were a bow-shot : for she said, Let me not look upon 
the death of the child. Therefore did she sit down. 

17 And the child lift up its voice, and wept. And God 
heard the voice of the lad : and the angel of God called 
to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What aileth 
thee, Hagar ? fear not ; for God hath heard the voice of 

18 the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold 

19 him fast ; for I will make him a great nation. And 
God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water ; and 
she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the 

20 lad drink. And God was with the lad, and he g^ew ; and 
he dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer. 

2 1 And he dwelt in the wilderness of Paran : and his mother 
took him a wife out of the land of Egypt. 

The Story of the Wells of the Negeb. The Covenant 
AT Beer-sheba. 

[And Abraham departed from Gerar and dwelt in the 
valley of Gerar. And there Isaac's servants digged a well, 
and found running water. And the herdmen of Gerar 
strove with Abraham's herdmen, saying. The water is 
ours : and he called the name of the well Esek ("Conten- 
tion"); because there they contended with him. And 
they digged another well, and they strove for that also ; 
and he called the name of it Sitnah ("Enmity"). And 
he removed from thence, and digged another well ; and 
for that they strove not. So he called the name of it 
Rehoboth ("Room"). And from thence he went up to 
Beer-sheba.*] 

22 And it came to pass at that time, that Abimelech and 
Phicol the captain of his host spake unto Abraham, 
saying, 

G6d is with thee in all whatsoever thou d6est ; 

23 Now therefore swear unto me by Gdd in this place. 
That th6u wilt not br6ak faith with m^, nor my kith 

and kin : 

* Supplied in accordance with xxvi. 17-23 and xxi. 25. 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 287 

After my kindness to thee thou shalt do unto me, 
And to the land wherein thou hast dwelt. 

And Abraham said, I will swear. And Abraham re- 24, 25 
proved Abimelech because of the well of water, which 
Abimelech's servants had violently taken away. And 26 
Abimelech said, I know not who hath done this thing : 
neither didst thou tell me, neither yet heard I of it, but 
to-day. And Abraham took sheep and oxen, and gave 27 
them unto Abimelech ; and they two made a covenant. 
And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by them- 28 
selves. And Abimelech said unto Abraham, What mean 29 
these seven ewe lambs which thou hast set by them- 
selves ? And he said. These seven ewe lambs shalt thou 30 
take of my hand, that it may be a witness unto me that 
I have digged this well. And he called it Shibah 26 — 33 
("Seven "): therefore the name of this city is Beer-sheba 
unto this day. 

And Abraham sojourned in the land of the Philis- 21 — 34 
tines many days. 

The Story of the Mount of God (?). How God proved 
Abraham. The sacrifice of Isaac. 

And it came to pass after these things, that God did 22 
prove Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham : and he 
said. Here am I. And he said, Take now thy son, thine 2 
only son, whom thou lovest, even Isaac, and get thee 

into the land of ( ), and offer him there for a 

burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will 
tell thee of. And Abraham rose early in the morning, 3 
and saddled his ass, and took his two young men with 
him, and Isaac his son ; and he clave the wood for the 
burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place of 
which God had told him. On the third day Abraham 4 
lifted up his eyes, and saw the place afar off. And 5 
Abraham said unto his young men. Abide ye here with 
the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder ; and we will 



288 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

6 worship, and come again to you. And Abraham took the 
wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his 
son ; and he took in his hand the fire and the knife ; and 

7 they went both of them together. And Isaac spake unto 
Abraham his father, and said. My father : and he said, 
Here am I, my son. And he said. Behold, the fire and 
the wood : but where is the lamb for a burnt offering ? 

8 And Abraham said, God will provide himself the lamb 
for a burnt offering, my son : so they went both of them 

9 together. And they came to the place which God had 
told him of ; and Abraham built the altar there, and laid 
the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him 

10 on the altar, upon the wood. And Abraham stretched 

1 1 forth his hand, and took the knife to slay his son. And 
the angel of God called unto him out of heaven, and said, 

12 Abraham, Abraham : and he said. Here am I. And he 
said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou 
anything unto him: for now I know that thou fearest 
God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only 

13 son, from me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and 
looked, and behold, behind him a ram caught in the 
thicket by his horns : and Abraham went and took the 
ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead 

14 of his son. And Abraham called the nam^e of that place 
, . . (" God is provider ?"), as it is said to this day, In 

19 the Mount of God it shall be provided. So Abraham re- 
turned unto his young men, and they rose up and went 
together to Beer-sheba ; and Abraham dwelt at Beer- 
sheba. 

The Story of Isaac. 

20 And it came to pass after these things, that [Abraham 
sent and took a wife for Isaac his son from Aram Nahar- 
aim ; and her name was Rebekah, the daughter of Beth- 
uel, the sister of Laban. And Bethuel was the son of 
Nahor, Abraham's brother. 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 38! 

And Abraham died, an old man, and full of years ; and 
Isaac his son buried him in Beer-sheba. And Isaac 
dwelt in that land, and was fruitful. And Rebekah 
bare Isaac two sons, at one birth. And the firstborn was 
rough and hairy, and she called his name Esau, and the 
younger . . . and his name was called Jacob.] 

The Story of the Blessing of Isaac. How Jacob 

SUPPLANTED ESAU. 

[And when Isaac was old,] he called Esau his elder 27 — i 
son, and said unto him. My son : and he said unto him, 
Here am I. And he said. Behold now, I am old, I know 2 
not the day of my death. Now therefore make me sav- 4 
oury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may 
eat ; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And 5 
Rebekah heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. [And 
she said to Jacob, Behold thy father hath called Esau to 
bless him ; for I heard him say,] make me savoury meat, 7 
that I may eat, and bless thee before my death. Now 8 
therefore, my son, obey my voice according to that 
which I command thee. Go now to the flock, and fetch 9 
me from thence two good kids of the goats ; and I will 
make them savoury meat for thy father, such as he lov- 
eth : and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that he may 10 
eat, so that he may bless thee before his death. And 11 
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau my 
brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man. My 12 
father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to 
him as a deceiver ; and I shall bring a curse upon me, 
and not a blessing. And his mother said unto him, 13 
Upon me be thy curse, my son : only obey my voice, 
and go fetch me them. So he went, and fetched, and 14 
brought them to his mother : and his mother made 
savoury meat, such as his father loved. And she put the 16 
skins of the kids of the goats upon his hands, and upon 
the smooth of his neck : and she gave the savoury meat 1 7 
19 



290 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of 
1 8 her son Jacob. And he came unto his father, and said, 
21 My father : and he said. Here am I. And Isaac said unto 

Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that I may feel thee, my 
2 2 son, whether thou be my very son Esau or not. And 

Jacob went near unto Isaac his father ; and he felt him, 

and said, The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are 
23 the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because 

his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau's hands : so he 

blessed him, [and said,] 

28 Abundance of dew, from the heavens thy God shall 

afford thee. 
And the fatness of earth [from beneath], 
With plenty of c6rn and wine [ ]. 

29 A Idrd thou shalt be to thy brethren. 

To thee shall bow down all the s6ns of thy mother. 

30^ And Jacob was yet scarce gone out from the presence 
of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came in from 

31 his hunting. And he also made savoury meat, and 
brought it unto his father. [And Isaac trembled very 
exceedingly, and said. Who then is he that hath brought 
me savoury meat, and I have eaten of all and blessed 
him before thou earnest? yea, he shall have the bless- 

34 ing.] When Esau heard the words of his father, he 
cried with an exceeding great and bitter cry, and said 
unto his father. Bless me, even me also, O my father. 

35 And he said, Thy brother came with guile, and hath 
2,6b taken away thy blessing. And he said, Hast thou not 

37 reserved a blessing for me ? And Isaac answered and 
said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and 
all his brethren have I given to him for servants ; and 
with corn and wine have I sustained him : and what then 

38 shall I do for thee, my son? And Esau said unto his 
father. Is the blessing the only one thou hast, my father ? 
bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 291 

up his voice, and wept. And Isaac his father ans-v^ered 39 
and said unto him, 

Far from the fatness of earth hencefdrth be thy 

dwelling. 
Far from the dews of the heavens. 
Subsistence thou'llt gain by thy sword, subject still 40 

to thy brother ; 
But, struggling still to be free, 
Shalt tear 6ff at length his yoke from thy shoulder. 

And Esau said in his heart, The days of mourning for j\ib 
my father are at hand ; then will I slay my brother 
Jacob. And the words of Esau her elder son were told 42 
to Rebekah ; and she sent and called Jacob her younger 
son, and said unto him, Behold, thy brother Esau, as 
touching thee, doth comfort himself with the thought of 
killing thee. Now therefore, my son, obey my voice ; 43 
and arise, flee thou to Laban my brother, to Haran ; 44 
and tarry with him a few days, until thy brother's fury 
turn away. 

The Story of Bethel. How Jacob anointed the 
pillar there. 

[So Jacob arose and fled.] And he lighted upon 28 — n 
the [holy] place, and tarried there all night, because the 
sun was set ; and he took one of the stones of the place, 
and put it under his head, and lay down in that place to 
sleep. And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on 1 2 
the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven : and behold 
the angels of God ascending and descending on it. And 1 7 
he was afraid, and said. 

How dreadful a place is this ! 

This is naught else than God's h6use. 

And this is the gate of heaven. 

And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the 18 
stone that he had put under his head, and set it up for a 



393 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

20 pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. And Jacob 
vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me, and will 
keep me in this way that I go, and will give me bread to 

21 eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again to my 

22 father's house in peace, then shall this stone, which I 
have set up for a pillar, be God's house (Beth-el) : and of 
all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tenth 
unto thee. 

The Story of Jacob's Service with Laban. How 
Laban gave him Leah and Rachel to wife. 

29 Then Jacob went on his journey, and came to the land 

of the children of the east. [And he came to Laban his 

i^b mother's brother.] And he abode with him the space of 

15 a month. And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art 
my brother, shouldest thou therefore serve me for 

16 nought? tell me, what shall thy wages be ? And Laban 
had two daughters : the name of the elder was Leah, and 

17 the name of the younger was Rachel. And Leah's eyes 
were weak ; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured. 

18 And Jacob loved Rachel ; and he said, I will serve thee 

19 seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter. And 
Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than that 

20 I should give her to another man : abide with me. And 
Jacob served seven years for Rachel ; and they seemed 
unto him but a few days, for the love he had to her. 

21 And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my 

22 days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And 
Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and 

23 made a feast. And it came to pass in the evening, that 
he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him ; and 

25 he went in unto her. And it came to pass in the morn- 
ing that, behold, it was Leah : and he said to Laban, 
What is this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve 
with thee for Rachel ? wherefore then hast thou cheated 

27 me? [And Laban said,] Fulfil the [festal] week of this 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 293 

one, and we will give thee the other also for the service 
which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years. 
And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week : and he gave 28 
him Rachel his daughter to wife. And he went in also 30 
unto Rachel, and he loved Rachel more than Leah, and 
served with him yet seven other years. 

The Story of the rivalry of Leah and Rachel, 
how the patriarchs were born and named. 

[And Leah bare unto Jacob Reuben and Simeon, and 
Levi and Judah.] 

And when Rachel saw that she bare Jacob no children, 30 
Rachel envied her sister ; and she said unto Jacob, Give 
me children, or else I die. And Jacob's anger was kind- 2 
led against Rachel : and he said. Am I in God's stead, 
who hath withheld from thee the fruit of thy womb ? 
And she said. Behold my maid Bilhah, go in unto her ; 3 
that she may bear upon my knees : and Jacob went in 4^ 
unto her. And Bilhah conceived, and bare Jacob a son. 5 
And Rachel said, God hath judged [dan) me, and hath 6 
also heard my voice, and hath given me a son : therefore 
called she his name Dan. And she conceived again, and 7 
[bare a son]. And Rachel said, With wrestlings of God 8 
have I wrestled [niphtal) with my sister, and have pre- 
vailed ; and she called his name Naphtali. [And Leah 
also gave her handmaid Zilpah to Jacob. And Zilpah 
bare Gad and Asher. And Leah cried unto God.] And 17 
God hearkened unto Leah, and she conceived, and bare 
Jacob a fifth son. And Leah said, God hath given me my 18 
hire {sachar), because I gave my handmaid to my husband: 
so she called his name Issachar. And Leah conceived 19 
again, and bare a sixth son to Jacob. And Leah said, 20 
God hath endowed me with a good dowry {zebed) ; and 
she called his name Zebulun. [And Rachel also cried 
unto God.] And God hearkened to her. And she con- 2 2*5 
ceived, and bare a son : and said, God hath taken away 23 
{asap/i) my reproach : so she called his name Joseph. 24 



294 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 
The Story of Jacob's service with Laban, How God 

GAVE HIM THE WEALTH OF THE SyRIAN. 

26 [And Jacob said iinto Laban,] Give me my w^ives and 
my children for whom I have served thee, and let me go : 
for thou knowest my service M^herewith I have served 

28 thee. And he said, Appoint me thy w^ages, and I will 
give it. [Whatsoever thou shalt ask me I will give, if 
thou wilt tarry] and keep [the flock. And Jacob said,] 

32 I will pass through all thy flock to-day, removing from 
thence every speckled and spotted one, and every black 
one among the sheep, and the spotted and speckled 

^^ among the goats : and it shall be my hire. So shall my 
righteousness answer for me hereafter, when thou shalt 
come concerning my hire that is before thee : every one 
that is not speckled and spotted among the goats, and 
black among the sheep, that [if found] with me shall 
be counted stolen. [And Laban said. So let it be ; the 
speckled shall be thy wages. So Jacob separated the 
flock, and he set the speckled and spotted by themselves 
for his own, and the white by themselves for Laban. 
But he set the faces of the white toward the speckled and 

383 spotted in the flock of Laban,*] at the watering troughs 
where the flocks came to drink'; for they rutted when 
they came to drink. [So all the flock bare speckled and 
spotted. And when Laban saw that all the flock bare 
speckled and spotted, he was very wroth, and said to 
Jacob, Thy wages are too much. Be content, and take 
the ringstraked and the black only. And Jacob said, I 
will serve thee for the ringstraked and the black. And 
again he separated the flock, and set the white and 
speckled by themselves for Laban, and the ringstraked 

4o<5 and the black by themselves for his own.] And he set 
the faces of the flocks toward the ringstraked and all the 
black in the flock of Laban. [So all the flock bare ring- 
straked and black.] 

♦Supplied from xxxi. 7-9. 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 295 

The Story of Jacob's Return, and the Covenant 

AT GiLEAD. 

And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and, 31 — 2 
behold, it was not toward him as beforetime. And Jacob 4 
sent and called Rachel and Leah to the field unto his 
flock, and said unto them, I see your father's counten- 5 
ance, that it is not toward me as beforetime ; but the God 
of my father hath been with me. And ye know that 6 
with all my power I have served your father. And your ,7 
father hath deceived me, and changed my wages ten 
times ; but God suffered him not to hurt me. If he said thus, 8 
The speckled shall be thy wages ; then all the flock bare 
speckled : and if he said thus. The ringstraked shall be 
thy wages ; then bare all the flock ringstraked. Thus 9 
God hath taken away the cattle of your father, and given 
them to me. And it came to pass at that time, that I 10 
lifted up my eyes, and saw in a dream, .... and, 1 1 
behold, the angel of God said unto me in the dream, Jacob : 
and I said. Here am I. And he said, I am the God of Beth- 13 
el, where thou anointedst a pillar, where thou vowedst a 
vow unto me : now arise, get thee out from this land, and 
return unto the land of thy nativity. And Rachel and 14 
Leah answered and said unto him, Is there yet any por- 
tion or inheritance for us in our father's house ? Are we 15 
not counted of him strangers ? for he hath sold us, and 
hath also quite devoured the price paid for us. For all 16 
the riches which God hath taken away from our father, 
that is ours and our children's : now then, whatsoever 
God hath said unto thee, do. Then Jacob rose up, and 17 
set his sons and his wives upon the camels ; and he car- 18 
ried away all his cattle. Now Laban was gone to shear 19 
his sheep : and Rachel stole the teraphim that were her 
father's. And Jacob stole away unawares to Laban the 20 
Syrian, in that he told him not that he fled. So he fled 2 1 
with all that he had ; and set his face toward the moun- 
tain of Gilead. 



296 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

2 2 And it was told Laban on the third day that Jacob 

23 was fled. And he took his brethren with him, and pur- 
sued after him seven days' journey ; and he overtook 

24 him in the mountain of Gilead. And God came to Laban 
the Syrian in a dream of the night, and said unto him, 
Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either 

26 good or bad. And Laban said to Jacob : 

What hast thou done, that thou stolest away, 
And didst bear off my daughters, as captives of the 
sword ? 

28 Nor siifferedst me to kiss my s6ns and my daughters ? 
Now hast thou acted in folly. 

29 It is in the power of my hand to do you hurt : but the 
God of your father spake unto me yesternight, saying. 
Take heed to thyself that thou speak not to Jacob either 

30 good or bad. And now, if thou must by all means be 
gone, because thou sore longedst after thy father's house, 

32 yet wherefore hast thou stolen my gods? And he said. 
With whomsoever thou findest thy gods, he shall not 
live : before our brethren discern thou what is thine 
with me, and take it to thee. For Jacob knew not that 

^^ Rachel had stolen them. And Laban went into Jacob's 
tent, and into Leah's tent ; but he found them not. And 
he went out of Leah's tent, and entered into Rachel's 

34 tent. Now Rachel had taken the teraphim, and put 
them in the camel's furniture, and sat upon them. And 
Laban felt about all the tent, but found them not. 

35 And she said to her father. Let not my lord be angry 
that I cannot rise up before thee ; for the manner of 

■ women is upon me. And he searched, but found not the 

36 teraphim. And Jacob was wroth, and chode with Laban: 
and Jacob answered, and said to Laban, 

What is my trespass ? what is my sin ? 

37 That thou hast pursued me, and ransacked my stuff? 
What hast thou found of all thy belongings ? 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 291 

Set it down here before my kin and thy kin, 
And they shall be jiidge between us. 

This twenty years I have been with thee, 38 

Thy ewes and thy she-goats have not cast their 

young ; 
Nor ever a ram of thy flock have I eaten. 
The torn of beasts I brought not to thee : 39 

I bare its loss ; of my hand thou didst claim it, 
Whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. 

Thus was I ; by day, consumed of the heat, 40 

By night, of the frost ; while my sleep fled mine eyes. 

These twenty years have I been in thy hduse : 41 

Fourteen years I served for thy daughters, 

And six years I served for thy flock. 

And thou hast altered my wages ten times. 

Biit for my father's God, God of Abraham, 42 

And had not the Fear of Isaac been with me, 

Even now thou Jiadst sent me empty away. 

Mine affliction, and toil of my hands God hath seen. 

And rebuked thee last night. 

And Jacob took a stone and set it up for a pillar. 45 
And Laban [made a cairn and] called it Jegar-sahadutha 47 
(In Aramaic, Cairn of Witness), but Jacob called it Gal- 
eed (i. e. Gilead, as if = gal e'd, Cairn of Witness in 
Hebrew). And Laban said to Jacob : 51 

Behold, and see this cairn. 

Which I have cast tip between me and thee. 

Witness {ed) shall be this cairn {gal) 52 

That I pass not over this cairn unto thee. 

And that thou pass not over to me for harm. 

Abraham's God be jildge between us. 53 

And Jacob sware by the Fear of his father Isaac. And 54 
Jacob offered a sacrifice in the mountain, and called his 



298 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

brethren to eat bread : and they did eat bread, and 
55 tarried all night in the mountain. And early in the 
morning Laban rose up, and kissed his sons and his 
daughters, and blessed them : and Laban departed, and 
returned unto his place. 

The Story of Mahanaim and Peniel How Jacob met 
Esau again in peace. 

32 And Jacob went on his way, and the angels of God 

2 met him. And Jacob said when he saw them. This is 

God's host : and he called the name of that place Mahan- 

13a aim (Two Hosts). And he lodged there that night. 
[And Jacob sent a gift unto Esau his brother from 

3, 22 Mahanaim] unto the field of Edom. And he took [his 
household] and passed over the ford of Jabboq. [ . . . ] 

30 And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel (Face of 
God) : for, said he, I have seen God face to face, and my 

life is preserved 

[And, behold, Esau came to meet him, and when he 

33 — 4<^ saw him,] he fell on his neck, and kissed him : and 
5 they wept. And he lifted up his eyes, and saw the 
women and the children ; and said, Who are these with 
thee? And he said, The children which God hath 
graciously given thy servant. [And Esau said. Where- 
fore hast thou sent me a gift. Keep that which is thine. 

II And Jacob said,] Take, I pray thee, my gift that is 
brought to thee ; because God hath dealt graciously with 
me, and because I have abundance. And he urged him, 
and he took it. 

The Story of the Pillar and Altar by Shechem. 

18 So Jacob came in peace to Shechem, a city which is 
in the land of Canaan, and encamped before the city. 

19 And he bought the parcel of ground, where he had 
spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor, 

20 Shechem's father, for an hundred kesitas. And he set up 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 29J 

a pillar there and called it El-elohe- Israel (God, the God 
of Israel). 

The Story of the Conquest of Shechem. How Jacob 
avenged his daughter's honor and conquered 

THE CITY. 

And Dinah the daughter of Leah which she bare 34 — i 
unto Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land. 
[And Shechem the son of Ham or saw her,] and lay with 2 
her. And he spake comfortingly to the damsel. And 3, 4 
Shechem spake unto his father Hamor, saying. Get me 
this damsel to wife. And Hamor the father of Shechem 6 
went out unto Jacob to commune with him. And Hamor 8 
communed with him, saying. The soul of my son Shech- 
em longeth for your daughter : I pray you give her unto 
him to wife. And intermarry with us ; give your 9 
daughters unto us, and take our daughters unto you. 
And ye shall dwell with us : and the land shall be before 10 
you ; dwell and trade ye therein, and get you possessions 
therein. [And the sons of Jacob answered, and said,] 
We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to one that is 14 
uncircumcised ; for that were a reproach unto us : only 15 
on this condition will we consent unto you : if ye will be 
circumcised as we be ; then will we give our daughters 16 
unto you, and we will take your daughters to us, and we 
will dwell with you, and we will become one people. 
But if ye will not hearken unto us, to be circumcised ; 17 
then will we take our daughter, and we will be gone. 
And their words pleased Hamor. And Hamor and 18, 20 
Shechem his son came unto the gate of their city, and 
communed with the men of their city, saying. These men 2 1 
are peaceable with us ; therefore let them dwell in the 
land, and trade therein ; for, behold, the land is large 
enough for them ; let us take their daughters to us for 
wives, and let us give them our daughters. Only on this 22 
condition will the men consent unto us to dwell with us, 



300 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

to become one people, if we be circumcised, as they are 

24 circumcised. And unto Hamor and unto Shechem his 
son hearkened all that went out of the gate of his city ; 
all that went out of the gate of his city were circumcised. 

25 And it came to pass on the third day, when they were 
sore, that [Jacob and his people] came upon the city all 

27 unsuspecting, and slew them. The sons of Jacob came 

28 upon the slain, and spoiled the city. They took their 
flocks and their herds and their asses, and that which was 

29 in the city, and that which was in the field ; and all their 
wealth, and all their little ones and their wives, took they 
captive. 

The Story of the Altar at Bethel, and of the Oak 
OF Deborah. How Jacob came to Bethel, and 

DWELT THERE. 

35 And God said unto Jacob, Arise, go up to Bethel, and 
dwell there : and make there an altar unto God, who ap- 
peared unto thee when thou fleddest from the face of 

2 Esau thy brother. Then Jacob said unto his household, 
and to all that were with him. Put away the strange gods 
that are among you, and purify yourselves, and change 

3 your garments : and let us arise, and go up to Bethel ; 
and I will make there an altar unto God, who answered 
me in the day of my distress, and was with me in the 

4 way which I went. And they gave unto Jacob all the 
strange gods which were in their hand, and the rings 
which were in their ears ; and Jacob hid them under the 

5 oak which was by Shechem. And they journeyed : and a 
terror from God was upon the cities that were round about 

6 them, and they did not pursue after Jacob. And Jacob 
came to Bethel, he and all the people that were with 

7 him. And he built there an altar, and called the place 
El-beth-el (God of Bethel) : because there God was re- 
vealed unto him, when he fled from the face of his 

8 brother. And Deborah Rebekah's nurse died, and she 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 301 

was buried below Bethel under the oak : and the name 
of it was called Allon-bacuth (Oak of Weeping). 

The Story of the Pillar of Rachel's Tomb. 

And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Eph- 19 
rath. And Jacob set up a pillar upon her grave : the 20 
same is the Pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day. 

The Story of Joseph. How he dreamed of future things, 

and how, his brethren plotting against him, 

he was stolen by the midianites. 

Now Joseph was a lad, feeding the flock with his 37 — 2 
brethren : and Joseph brought the evil report of them 
unto their father. And Joseph dreamed a dream, and 5 
he told it to his brethren. And he said unto them, Hear, 6 
I pray you, this dream which I have dreamed : for, be- 7 
hold, we were binding sheaves in the field, and, lo, my 
sheaf arose, and also stood upright ; and, behold, your 
sheaves came round about, and made obeisance to my 
sheaf. 

And his brethren said to him, 8 

Shalt thou indeed reign over us ? 
Or shalt thdu have the rule over lis ? 

And he dreamed yet another dream, and told it to his 9 
brethren, and said. Behold I have dreamed yet a dream : 
and, behold, the sun and the moon and eleven stars made 
obeisance to me. And he told it to his father, and to his 10 
brethren ; and his father rebuked him, and said unto him, 
What is this dream that thou hast dreamed ? Shall I and 
thy mother and thy brethren indeed come to bow down 
ourselves to thee to the earth ? And his brethren envied 1 1 
him ; but his father kept the saying in mind. [And it 
came to pass after these things, that Jacob called Joseph, 
and said unto him, Joseph.] And he said to him. Here 13-^ 
am I. And he said to him. Go now, see whether it be 14 
well with thy brethren, and well with the flock ; and 



302 THE EPHRA I MITE PROPHETIC NA RRA TI VE E, 

bring me word again. [So Joseph went to find his 

15 brethren.] And a certain man found him, and, behold, 
he was wandering in the field : and the man asked him, 

16 saying. What seekest thou? And he said, I seek my 
brethren : tell me, I pray thee, where they are feeding 

17 [the flock]. And the man said, They are departed hence: 
for I heard them say. Let us go to Dothan. And Joseph 
went after his brethren, and found them in Dothan. 

19 And they said one to another, Behold, this dreamer 

20 Cometh. Come now therefore, and let us slay him, and 
cast him into one of the pits, and we will say. An evil 
beast hath devoured him : and we shall see what will 

22 become of his dreams. And Reuben said unto them, 
Shed no blood ; cast him into this pit that is in the wil- 
derness, but lay no hand upon him : that he might de- 
liver him out of their hand, to restore him to his father. 

23 And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his 
brethren, that they stript Joseph of his coat, and they 

24 took him, and cast him into the pit : and the pit was 

25 empty, there was no water in it. And they sat down to 

28 eat bread. And there passed by Midianites, merchant- 
men ; and they drew and lifted up Joseph out of the pit, 

29 and brought Joseph into Egypt. And Reuben returned 
unto the pit ; and, behold, Joseph was not in the pit ; and 

30 he rent his clothes. And he returned unto his brethren, 
and said. The child is not ; and I, whither shall I go ? 

31 And they took Joseph's coat, and killed a he-goat, and 

32 dipped the coat in the blood ; and they brought it to 
their father ; and said. This have we found : know now 

33 whether it be thy son's coat or not. And he knew it, and 
said, It is my son's coat ; an evil beast hath devoured 

34 him. And Jacob rent his garments, and put sackcloth 
upon his loins, and mourned for his son many days. 

How Joseph was a slave in Egypt, and interpreted 
Pharaoh's dream. 

36 And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, 



CIRC. 730 B. C. 303 

a eunuch of Pharaoh's, the chief executioner. And 39 — 4^ 
he ministered unto him. And he left all that he had in da 
Joseph's hand. 

And it came to pass after these things, that Pharaoh 40 — 2 
was wroth against his two officers, against the chief of 
the butlers, and against the chief of the bakers. And he 3 
put them in ward in the house of the chief executioner. 
And the chief executioner charged Joseph with them, 4 
and he ministered unto them : and they continued a sea- 
son in ward. And they dreamed a dream both of them, 5 
each man his dream, in one night, each man according to 
the interpretation of his dream. And Joseph came in 6 
unto them in the morning, and saw them, and, behold, 
they were sad. And he asked Pharaoh's officers that 7 
were with him in ward in his master's house, saying, 
Wherefore look ye so sadly to-day ? And they said unto 8 
him. We have dreamed a dream, and there is none that 
can interpret it. And Joseph said unto them. Do not in- 
terpretations belong to God? tell it me, I pray you. 
And the chief butler told his dream to Joseph, and said 9 
to him, 

In my dream, behold, a vine was before me ; 
And in the vine were three branches : 10 

And this seemed to biid, its blossoms shot forth ; 
The clusters thereof ripened grapes. 

And Pharaoh's cup was in my hand; and I took the 11 
grapes, and pressed them into Pharaoh's cup, and I gave 
the cup into Pharaoh's hand. And Joseph said unto 12 
him. This is the interpretation of it : the three branches 13 
are three days ; within yet three da5^s shall Pharaoh lift 
up thine head, and restore thee unto thine office : and 
thou shalt give Pharaoh's cup into his hand, after the 
former manner when thou wast his butler. But have 14 
me in thy remembrance when it shall be well with thee, 
and shew kindness, I pray thee, unto me, and make men- 
tion of me unto Pharaoh, and bring me out of this house: 



304 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

15 for indeed I was stolen away ovit of the land of the 

16 Hebrews. When the chief baker saw that the interpre- 
tation was good, he said unto Joseph, I also was in 
my dream, and, behold, three baskets of white bread 

1 7 were on my head : and in the uppermost basket there 
was of all manner of bakemeats for Pharaoh ; and the 
birds did eat them out of the basket upon my head. 

18 And Joseph answered and said, This is the interpretation 

19 thereof: the three baskets are three days; within yet 
three days shall Pharaoh lift up thy head from off thee, 
and shall hang thee on a tree ; and the birds shall eat thy 

20 flesh from off thee. And it came to pass the third day, 
which was Pharaoh's birthday, that he made a feast unto 
all his servants : and he lifted up the head of the chief 
butler and the head of the chief baker among his serv- 

2 1 ants. For he restored the chief butler unto his butlership 

22 again ; and he gave the cup into Pharaoh's hand : but he 
hanged the chief baker : as Joseph had interpreted to 

23 them. Yet did not the chief butler remember Joseph, 
but forgat him. 

41 And it came to pass at the end of two full years, that 
Pharaoh dreamed : and, behold, he stood by the river. 

2 And, behold, there came up out of the river seven kine, 
well favoured and fat fleshed ; and they fed in the reed- 

3 grass. And, behold, seven other kine came up after them 
out of the river, ill favoured and leanfleshed ; and stood 

4 by the other kine upon the brink of the river. And the 
ill favoured and leanfleshed kine did eat up the seven 

5 well favoured and fat kine. So Pharaoh awoke. And he 
slept and dreamed a second time : and, behold, seven 
ears of corn came up upon one stalk, rank and good. 

6 And, behold, seven ears, thin and blasted with the east 

7 wind, sprung up after them. And the thin ears swal- 
lowed up the seven rank and full ears. And Pharaoh 

8 awoke, and, behold, it was a dream. And it came to pass 
in the morning that his spirit was troubled ; and he sent 
and called for all the magicians of Egypt, and all the 



CIRC. 7 JO B. C. 305 

wise men thereof : and Pharaoh told them his dream ; 
but there was none that could interpret them unto Pha- 
raoh. Then spake the chief butler unto Pharaoh, saying, 9 
I do remember my faults this day : Pharaoh was wroth 10 
with his servants, and put them in ward in the house of 
the chief executioner, me and the chief baker : and we 1 1 
dreamed a dream in one night, I and he ; we dreamed 
each man according to the interpretation of his dream. 
And there was with us there a young man, an Hebrew, 12 
servant to the chief executioner ; and we told him, 
and he interpreted to us our dreams ; to each man ac- 
cording to his dream he did interpret. And it came to 1 3 
pass, as he interpreted to us, so it was ; I was restored 
unto mine office, and he was hanged. Then Pharaoh sent 14 
and called Joseph, and he shaved himself, and changed 
his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh 15 
said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is 
none that can interpret it : and I have heard say of thee, 
that when thou hearest a dream thou canst interpret it. 
And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying. It is not in me : 16 
God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pha- 17 
raoh spake unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood 
upon the brink of the river : and, behold, there came up 18 
out of the river seven kine, fatfleshed and well favoured ; 
and they fed in the reed-grass : and, behold, seven other 19 
kine came up after them, poor and very ill favoured and 
leanfleshed, such as I never saw in all the land of Egypt 
for badness : and the lean and ill favoured kine did eat 20 
up the first seven fat kine : and when they had eaten 21 
them up, it could not be known that they had eaten 
them ; but they were still ill favoured, as at the begin- 
ning. So I awoke. And I saw in my dream, and, behold, 22 
seven ears came up upon one stalk, full and good : and, 23 
behold, seven ears, withered, thin, [and] blasted with the 
east wind, sprung up after them : and the thin ears swal- 24 
lowed up the seven good ears : and I told it unto the 
magicians ; but there was none that could declare it to 
20 



306 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

25 me. And Joseph said unto Pharaoh, The dream of Pha- 
raoh is one : what God is about to do he hath declared 

26 unto Pharaoh. The seven good kine are seven years ; 
and the seven good ears are seven years : the dream is 

27 one. And the seven lean and ill favoured kine that came 
up after them are seven years, and also the seven empty 
ears blasted with the east wind ; they shall be seven 

28 years of famine. That is the thing which I spake unto 
Pharaoh : what God is about to do he hath shewed unto 

29 Pharaoh. Behold, there come seven years of great plenty 

30 throughout all the land of Egypt : and there shall arise 
after them seven years of famine ; and all the plenty 
shall be forgotten in the land of Egypt ; and the famine 

32 shall consume the land. And for that the dream was 
doubled unto Pharaoh twice, it is because the thing is 
established by God,, and God will shortly bring it to pass. 

33 Now therefore let Pharaoh look out a man discreet and 

34 wise, and set him over the land of Egypt. And let him 
appoint overseers over the land, and take up the fifth 
part of the land of Egypt in the seven plenteous years. 

35a And let them gather all the food of these good years that 

36 come. And the food shall be for a store to the land 
against the seven years of famine, which shall be in the 
land of Egypt ; that the land perish not through the 

37 famine. And the thing was good in the eyes of Pha- 

38 raoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh 
said unto his servants. Can we find such a one as this, a 

39 man in whom the spirit of God is ? And Pharaoh said 
unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all 

40 this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou : thou 
shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word 
shall all my people be ruled : only in the throne will I be 

47 greater than thou. And in the seven plenteous years 

49 the earth brought forth by handfuls. And Joseph laid 
up corn as the sand of the sea, very much, until he left 

50 numbering; for it was without number. And unto 
Joseph were born two sons before the year of famine 



CIRC. 7JO B. C. 307 

came. And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Man- 51 
asseh (Making to forget) : For, [said he,] God hath made 
me forget all my toil, and all my father's house. And the 52 
name of the second called he Ephraim (Fruitfulness) : 
For God hath made me fruitful in the land of my afflic- 
tion. And the seven years of plenty, that was in the land 53 
of Egypt, came to an end. And there was famine in all 54^ 
lands ; but in all the land of Egypt there was bread. And 56^ 
the famine was over all the face of the earth. And all 5 7 
countries came into Egypt to Joseph for to buy corn : be- 
cause the famine was sore in all the earth. 

How Joseph's dreams came to pass. 

Now Jacob saw that there was corn in Egypt, and 42 
Jacob said unto his sons. Why do ye look one upon an- 
other ? And he said. Behold, I have heard that there is 2 
corn in Egypt : get you down thither, and buy for us from 
thence ; that we may live, and not die. And Joseph's 3 
ten brethren went down to buy corn from Egypt. But 4 
Benjamin, Joseph's brother, Jacob sent not with his breth- 
ren. And Joseph was the governor over the land ; and 6 
Joseph's brethren came, and bowed down themselves to 
him with their faces to the earth. And Joseph knew his 8 
brethren, but they knew not him. And Joseph remem- ga 
bered the dreams which he dreamed of them ; and he spake 'jb 
roughly with them ; and said unto them, Ye are spies ; to gb 
see the nakedness of the land ye are come. And they said 10 
unto him, Nay, my lord, but to buy food are thy servants 
come. We are all one man's sons ; we are true men, thy 1 1 
servants are no spies. And he said unto them, Nay, but 12 
to see the nakedness of the land are ye come. And they 13 
said, We thy servants are twelve brethren, the sons of one 
man in the land of Canaan ; and, behold, the youngest is 
this day with our father, and one is not. And Joseph said 14 
unto them, That is it that I spake unto you, saying. Ye 
are spies : hereby ye shall be proved : by the life of Pha- 15 
raoh ye shall not go forth hence, except your youngest 



308 THE EPHRA I MITE PROP HE TIC NA RRA TI VE E, 

1 6 brother come hither. Send one of you, and let him fetch 
your brother, and ye shall be bound, that your words may 
be proved, whether there be truth in you : or else by the 

1 7 life of Pharaoh surely ye are spies. And he put them 
i8 all together into ward three days. And Joseph said unto 

19 them the third day. This do, and live ; for I fear God : if 
ye be true men, let one of your brethren be bound in 
your prison house ; but go ye, carry corn for the famine 

20 of your houses : and bring your youngest brother unto 
me ; so shall your words be verified, and ye shall not die. 

21 And they did so. And they said one to another, 

We are verily guilty concerning our brdther, 
In that we saw the distress of his soul, 
When he besought us, and w€ would not hear ; 
Therefore is this distress come upon us. 

22 And Reuben answered them, saying. Spake I not unto 
you, saying, Do not sin against the child ; and ye would 
not hear? therefore also, behold, his blood is required. 

23 And they knew not that Joseph understood them; for 

24 there was an interpreter between them. And he turned 
himself about from them, and wept ; and he returned to 
them, and spake to them, and took Simeon from among 

25 them, and bound him before their eyes. Then Joseph 
commanded to fill their vessels with corn, and to restore 
every man's money into his sack, and to give them pro- 
vision for the way: and thus was it done unto them. 

26 And they laded their asses with their corn, and departed 

29 thence. And they came unto Jacob their father unto the 
land of Canaan, and told him all that had befallen them ; 

30 saying. The man, the lord of the land, spake roughly 

31 with us, and took us for spies of the country. And we 

32 said unto him. We are true men ; we are no spies : we be 
twelve brethren, sons of our father ; one is not, and the 
youngest is this day with our father in the land of Ca- 

33 naan. And the man, the lord of the land, said unto us. 
Hereby shall I know that ye are true men ; leave one of 



CIRC. 7SO B. C. 309 

your brethren with me, and take [corn for] the famine 
of your houses, and go your way : and bring your young- 
est brother unto me : then shall I know that ye are no 34 
spies, but that ye are true men : so will I deliver you 
your brother, and ye shall traffick in the land. And it 35 
came to pass as they emptied their sacks, that, behold, 
every man's bundle of money was in his sack : and when 
they and their father saw their bundles of money, they 
were afraid ; and their heart failed them, and they turned 28/- 
trembling one to another, saying, What is this that God 
hath done unto us ? And Jacob their father said unto 36 
them. Me have ye bereaved of my children : Joseph is 
not, and Simeon is not, and ye will take Benjamin away : 
all these things are against me. And Reuben spake unto 37 
his father, saying. Slay my two sons, if I bring him not 
to thee : deliver him into my hand, and I will bring him ; . 
to thee again. [And Jacob said, If it be so, go, and Ben- 
jamin shall go with you,] and El-Shaddai give you 43— 14 
mercy before the man, that he may release unto you your 
other brother and Benjamin. And if I be bereaved of 
my children, I am bereaved. 

[So the men departed, and came again to Joseph. 
And when Joseph saw Benjamin with them, his heart 
was moved toward his brethren, and he determined to 
make himself known to them.] 

How Joseph revealed himself to his brethren. 

And he brought wSimeon out unto them [and sent away 23^ 
all his servants]. And there stood no man with him, 45 — ^b 
while Joseph made himself known unto his brethren. 
And he wept aloud : and the Egyptians heard, and the 2 
house of Pharaoh heard. And Joseph said unto his 3 
brethren, I am Joseph ; doth my father yet live ? And his 
brethren could not answer him ; for they were troubled 
at his presence. [And Joseph saw that they remembered 
their fault, and were afraid, and he reassured them, and 
said. Be not troubled,] nor angry with yourselves, for <^b 



310 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

6 God did send me before you to preserve life. For these 
two years hath the famine been in the land : and there are 
yet five years, in the which there shall be neither plowing- 

7 nor harvest. And God sent me before you to preserve 
you a remnant in the earth, and to keep alive for you a 

8 great survival. So now it was not you who sent me 
hither, but God : and he hath made me a father to Pha- 
raoh, and lord of all his house, and ruler over all the land 

9 of Egypt. Haste ye, and go up to my father, and say 
unto him. Thus saith thy son Joseph, God hath made me 

1 1 lord of all Egypt : come down unto me, tarry not : and 
there will I nourish thee ; for there are yet five years of 
famine ; lest thou come to poverty, thou, and thy house- 

1 2 hold, and all that thou hast. And, behold, your eyes see, 
and the eyes of my brother Benjamin, that it is my 

15 mouth that speaketh unto you. And he kissed all his 
brethren, and wept upon them : and after that his breth- 
ren talked with him. 

16 And the fame thereof was heard in Pharaoh's house, 
saying, Joseph's brethren are come : and it pleased Pha- 

17 raoh well, and his servants. And Pharaoh said unto 
Joseph, Say unto thy brethren. This' do ye ; lade your 

18 beasts, and go, get you unto the land of Canaan ; and 
take your father and your households, and come unto me: 
and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye 

21b shall eat the fat of the land. And Joseph gave them 

22 wagons, and provision for the way. To all of them he 
gave each man changes of raiment ; but to Benjamin he 
gave three hundred pieces of silver, and five changes of 

23 raiment. And to his father he sent after this manner ; 
ten asses laden with the good things of Egypt, and ten 
she-asses laden with corn and bread and victual for his 

24 father by the way. So he sent his brethren away, and 
they departed : and he said unto them, See that ye fall 

25 not out by the way. And they went up out of Egypt, 
and came into the land of Canaan unto Jacob their father. 

26 And they told him, saying, Joseph is yet alive, and he is 



CIRC. 730 B. C. 311 

ruler over all the land of Egypt. And his heart fainted, ' 
for he believed them not. And they told him all the 27 
words of Joseph, which he had said unto them : and when 
he saw the wagons which Joseph had sent to carry him, 
the spirit of Jacob their father revived. 

How Jacob came into Egypt. 

And [Jacob] offered sacrifices unto the God of his 46 — ib 
father Isaac. And God spake unto Jacob in the visions 2 
of the night, and said, Jacob, Jacob. And he said. Here 
am I. And he said, 3 

i am G6d, the Gdd of thy father ; 

Fear thou ndt to go ddwn into Egypt, 

For I will make of thee there a great nation. 

i will go d6wn with th^e into Egypt, 4 

And surely I also will bring thee up thence, . 

And Joseph shall close thine eyes in d6ath. 

So Jacob rose up from Beer-sheba : [and went down 5 
into Egypt to Joseph]. And Joseph nourished his father, 
and his brethren, and all his father's household with 
bread, according to the number of their little ones. 

The Blessing of Jacob. How Ephraim and Manasseh 

RECEIVED A PORTION ABOVE THEIR BRETHREN. 

And it came to pass after these things, that one said 48 
to Joseph, Behold, thy father is sick : and he took with 
him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. And one told 2 
Jacob, and said. Behold, thy son Joseph cometh unto thee. 
[And Jacob saw Joseph and his sons,] and said. Who are 
these? And Joseph said unto his father. They are my 9 
sons, whom God hath given me here. And he brought 10b 
them near unto him ; and he kissed them, and embraced 
them. And Jacob said unto Joseph, I had not thought 11 
to see thy face : and, lo, God hath let me see thy seed 
also. And Joseph brought them out from between his 12 



312 THE EPHRAIMITE PROPHETIC NARRA TIVE E, 

knees ; and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. 

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, 

The God before whom my fathers walked, Abraham 

and Isaac, 
The God who shepherded my from the first even 

linto this day, 

16 The Angel who saved me from every evil, bless the 

lads ; 
And let my name be named on them, 
And the name of my fathers, Abraham and Isaac ; 
A multitude let them become in the land.* 

20 So he blessed them that day, saying, By thee shall 
Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as 

21 Manasseh : and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. And 
Jacob said unto Joseph, Behold, I die : but God shall be 
with you, and bring you again unto the land of your 

22 fathers. Moreover I have given unto thee one ridge 
(Shechem) above thy brethren, which I took out of the 
hand of the Amorite with my sword and with my bow. 

50 — 15 And when Joseph's brethren saw that their father 
was dead, they said. It may be that Joseph will hate us, 
and will fully requite us all the evil which we did unto 

16 him. And they sent a message unto Joseph, saying, Thy 

17 father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye 
say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the transgres- 
sion of thy brethren, and their sin, for that they did unto 
thee evil : and now, we pray thee, forgive the transgres- 
sion of the servants of the God of thy father. And 

18 Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his breth- 
ren also went and fell down before his face ; and they 

19 said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto 

20 them, Fear not : for am I in the place of God ? And as 
for you, ye meant evil against me ; but God meant it for 
good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much peo- 

* C£. the rendering of Prof. Briggs, Biblical Study, p. 269, and the remarks there 
on the tristich, in illustration of which the above passage is cited. 



CIRC, rjo B. C. 313 

pie alive. Now therefore fear ye not : I will nourish you 21 
and your little ones. 

And Joseph dwelt in Egypt, he, and his father's house : 22 
And Joseph saw Ephraim's children of the third genera- 23 
tion : the children also of Machir the son of Manasseh 
were born upon Joseph's knees. And Joseph said unto 24 
his brethren, I die : but God will surely visit you, and 
bring you up out of this land unto the land which he 
sware to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. And Joseph 25 
took an oath of the children of Israel, saying, God will 
surely visit you, and ye shall carry up my bones from 
hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred and ten years 26 
old : and they embalmed him, and he was put in a coffin 
in Egypt. 



THE PRIESTLY LAWBOOK P^ CIRC. 450 B. C. 

2 4a. This is the Genealogy of the Heaven and 

THE Earth in the beginning of 

their creation. 

God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth I-2 
was waste and void ; and darkness was upon the face of 
the abyss :* and the spirit of God was brooding upon the 
face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light : and 3 
there was light. And God saw that the light was good : 4 
and God divided the light from the darkness. And God 5 
called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. 
And there was evening and there was morning, one day. 

And God said, Let there be a dome in the midst of the 6 
waters, and let it be a partition between the different waters. 
And God made the dome, and divided the waters which 7 
were under the dome from the waters which were above 
the dome : and it was so. And God called the dome 8 
Heaven, t And there was evening and there was morning, 
a second day. 

And God said. Let the waters under the heaven be 9 
gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land 
appear : and it was so. And God called the dry land 10 
Earth ; and the gathering together of the waters called 

* Heb. tehom, a technical term for the primeval ocean or hide filling all space. 
Of. Appendix I. Babylonian creation tablet. After the platform earth had been 
founded on its "pillars" (I Sam. ii. 8) and the dome of heaven erected upon it, this 
tehom is thereby divided into two parts (vs. 6f), " the waters which are above the 
dome," perhaps the same as "the River of God which is full of water" Ps. Ixv. g, 
whose floods stream down when " the windows of heaven are opened " Gen. vii. n ; 
and the waters which are " under the earth" (Ex. xx. 4) and which well up in foun- 
tains, streams and bodies of water (Gen. xlix. 25), or overwhelm the earth when the 
sluice-gates that control it are " broken up " (Gen. vii. n : Job xxxviii. 8-1 1.) 

t Were only the derivation from " heave " admissible ! In the Egyptian cosmogo- 
ny the deity Shu "heaves" up the vaulted roof over earth. "Dome" suggests a 
hemispherical idea not in the Hebrew word here used, but presents the conception 
better than "expanse" or "firmament." Of. Job xxii. 14 ; xxvi. 8ff ; xxxvii. 18. 
315) 



316 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P"-, CIRC 450 B. C. 

1 1 he Seas : and God saw that it was good. And God said, 
Let the earth put forth verdure, herb yielding seed, and 
fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed 

1 2 thereof, upon, the earth : and it was so. And the earth 
brought forth verdure, herb yielding seed after its kind, 
and tree bearing fruit, wherein is the seed thereof, after 

13 its kind : and God saw that it was good. And there was 
evening and there was morning, a third day. 

14 And God said. Let there be lights in the dome of the 
heaven to divide the day from the night ; and let them be 
for [calendar ?] signs, and for [the reckoning of J sacred 

15 seasons, and for days and years : and let them be for lights 
in the dome of the heaven to give light upon the earth : 

16 and it was so. And God made the two great lights: the 
greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule 

1 7 the night : also the stars. And God set them in the dome 

18 of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over 
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the 

19 darkness: and God saw that it was good. And there was 
evening and there was morning, a fourth daj^ 

20 And God said. Let the waters swarm with swarms of 
living creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the 

21 open dome of heaven. And God created the great sea- 
monsters, and every living creature that stirreth, which 
the waters swarmed with, after their kinds, and every 
winged fowl after its kind : and God saw that it was good. 

22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply 
and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in 

23 the earth. And there was evening and there was morn- 
ing, a fifth day. 

24 And God said. Let the earth bring forth the living crea- 
ture after its kind, cattle and creeping thing and wild 

25 beast of the earth after its kind : and it was so. And God 
made the wild beast of the earth after its kind, and the 
cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon 
the ground after its kind : and God saw that it was good. 

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our 



THE PRIESTL V LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 317 

likeness : and let them have dominion over the fish of the 
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and 
over every wild beast of the earth, and over every creep- 
ing thing that creepeth upon the earth. And God created 27 
man in his own image, in the image of God created he 
him ; male and female created he them. And God blessed 28 
them : and God said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply 
and replenish the earth and subdue it ; and have domin- 
ion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air 
and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth. 
And God said. Behold, I give you every herb yielding 29 
seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every 
tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you 
it shall be for meat : and to every beast of the earth and 30 
to every fowl of the air and to every thing that creepeth 
upon the earth, wherein there is life, I give every green 
herb for meat : and it was so. And God saw every thing 31 
that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And 
there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. 

So the heaven and the earth were finished, and all the 2 
host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his 2 
work which he had made ; and he rested on the seventh 
day from all his work which he had made. And God 3 
blessed the seventh day, and hallowed it : because that in 
it he rested from all his work which God had made and 
[soj created. 

5 I. This is the Book of the Genealogy of Adam. 

In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God 
made he him ; male and female created he them ; and 2 
blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day 
when they were created. 

And Adam lived - - - - - 130 years 
and begat a son in his own likeness, after his 
image ; and called his name Seth : and the days 4 

of Adam after he begat Seth were - - 800 years 
and he begat sons and daughters. And all the 5 



318 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK i«, CIRC. 450 B. C. 

days that Adam lived were - - - - 930 years 
and he died. 

6 And Seth lived 105 years 

7 and begat Enosh : and Seth lived after he begat 

Enosh - 807 years 

8 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

of Seth were - - - - - - 912 years 

and he died. 

9 And Enosh lived 90 years 

10 and begat Kenan : and Enosh lived after he 

begat Kenan 815 years 

1 1 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

of Enosh were 905 years 

and he died. 

12 And Kenan lived 70 years 

13 and begat Mahalalel : and Kenan lived after he 

begat Mahalalel 840 years 

14 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

of Kenan were 910 years 

and he died. 

15 And Mahalalel lived .... 65 years 

16 and begat Jared : and Mahalalel lived after he 

begat Jared 830 years 

1 7 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

of Mahalalel were 895 years 

and he died. 

18 And Jared lived - - - - - 62 years* 

19 and begat Enoch : and Jared lived after he 

begat Enoch --..-. 785 years 

20 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

of Jared were 847 years 

and he died. 

21 And Enoch lived . . . . . 5^ years 

22 and begat Methuselah : and Enoch walked with 

God after he begat Methuselah - - - 300 years 

23 and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 

* In w. i8ff the Sam. is followed. See p. 108, note. 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 31& 

of Enoch were ------ 355 years 

and Enoch walked with God : and he was not ; 24 

for God took him. 

And Methuselah lived •• - - - 67 years 25 

and begat Lamech : and Methuselah lived after 26 

he begat Lamech ----- 653 years 

and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 27 

of Methuselah were ----- 720 years 
and he died. 

And Lamech lived - - - - - 53 years 28 

and begat [Noah]. And Lamech lived after he 30 

begat Noah ------- 600 years 

and begat sons and daughters : and all the days 31 

of Lamech were 653 years 

and he died. 

And Noah was 500 years 32 

old : and Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth. 

6 9. This is the Genealogy of Noah. 

Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation : 
Noah walked with God. And Noah begat three sons, 10 
Shem, Ham and Japheth. 

Now the earth grew corrupt before God, and the earth 1 1 
became filled with violence. And God saw the earth, and, 1 2 
behold, it was corrupt ; for all flesh had turned to corrupt 
ways upon the earth. 

And God said unto Noah, I have determined to make an 13 
end of all flesh ; for the earth is filled with their violence ; 
and behold, I will destroy them from off the earth. Make 14 
thee an ark of gopher wood ; thou shalt make the ark of 
compartments, and shalt pitch it within and without with 
pitch. And this is how thou shalt make it : the length of 15 
the ark three hundred cubits, the breadth of it fifty cubits, 
and the height of it thirty cubits. Thou shalt make a light 16 
for the ark at the top and shall finish it [accurately] to a 
cubit ; and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side 
thereof ; with lower, second, and third stories shalt thou 



320 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 

17 make it. And I, behold, I do bring the flood upon the 
earth, to destroy all flesh, wherein is the breath of life, 
from under heaven ; every thing that is in the earth shall 

1 8 expire. But I will establish my covenant with thee ; and 
thou shalt come into the ark, thou, and thy sons, and thy 

19 wife, and thy sons* wives with thee. And of every living 
thing of all flesh, two of every sort shalt thou bring into 
the ark, to keep them alive with thee ; they shall be male 

20 and female. Of the fowl after their kind, and of the cat- 
tle after their kind, of every creeping thing of the ground 
after its kind, two of every sort shall come unto thee, to 

2 1 keep them alive. And take thou unto thee of all food that 
is eaten, and gather it to thee ; and it shall be for food for 

22 thee, and for them. Thus did Noah ; according to all that 
God commanded him, so did he. 

7 — 6 And Noah was six hundred years old when the flood 

II was upon the earth. In the six hundredth year of Noah's 

life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the 

month, on the same day all the sluicegates of the abyss 

were broken up and the windows of the heaven were 

13 opened. In the selfsame day entered Noah and Shem 
and Ham and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah's 
wife, and the three wives of his sons with them, into the 

14 ark ; they, and every wild beast after its kind, and all the 
cattle after their kind, and every creeping thing that 
creepeth upon the earth after its kind, and every fowl 

15 after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went 
in unto Noah into the ark, two and two of all flesh 

16 wherein is the breath of life. And they that went in, 
went in male and female of all flesh, as God commanded 

17-18 him: And the flood came upon the earth. And the 
waters prevailed, and increased greatly upon the earth ; 

19 and the ark went upon the face of the waters. And the 
waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth ; and all the 
high mountains that were under the whole heaven were 

20 covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail ; 

2 1 and the mountains were covered. And all flesh expired 



THE PRIESTL V LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 321 

that moved upon the earth, both fowl, and cattle, and beast, 
and every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, 
and every man : And the waters prevailed upon the earth 24 
an hundred and fifty days. 

And God remembered Noah and all the living crea- 8 
tures, and all the cattle that were with him in the ark : 
and God made a wind to pass over the earth, and the waters 
assuaged : The sluicegates of the abyss and the openings 2 
of the heaven were stopped : and after the end of the one 3 
hundred and fifty days the waters began to decrease. 
And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seven- 4 
teenth day of the month, upon the mountains of Ararat. 
And the waters decreased continually until the tenth 5 
month : in the tenth month, on the first day of the month, 
were the tops of the mountains seen. And it came to pass 13 
in the six hundred and first year, in the first month, the 
first day of the month, the waters were dried up from off 
the earth ; And in the second month, on the seven and 14 
twentieth day of the month, was the earth dry. 

And God spake unto Noah, saying, Go forth of the 15-16 
ark, thou, and thy wife, and thy sons, and thy sons' wives 
with thee. Bring forth with thee every living thing that is 1 7 
with thee of all flesh, both fowl, and cattle, and every creep- 
ing thing that creepeth upon the earth ; that they may 
breed abundantly in the earth, and be fruitful, and multiply 
upon the earth. And Noah went forth, and his sons, and 1 8 
his wife, and his sons' wives with him : every beast, every 19 
creeping thing, and every fowl, whatsoever stirreth upon 
the earth, after their families, went forth out of the ark. 
And God blessed Noah and his sons, and said unto them, 9 
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. And 2 
the fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every 
beast of the, earth, and upon every fowl of the air : with 
all wherewith the ground teemeth, and all the fishes of the 
sea, into your hand are they delivered. Every moving 3 
thing that liveth shall be food for you ; in like manner 
with the green herb have I given you all. But flesh with 4 
21 



322 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P", CIRC. 430 B. C. 

the life thereof, which is the blood thereof, shall ye not eat. 

5 And surely your blood, the blood of your lives, will I re- 
quire ; at the hand of every beast will I require it : and 
at the hand of man, even at the hand of every man's 

6 brother, will I require the life of man. Whoso sheddeth 
man's blood, by man shall his blood be shed : for in the 

7 image of God made he man. And you, be ye fruitful, and 
multiply ; bring forth abundantly in the earth, and multi- 
ply therein. 

8 And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with him, 

9 saying, And I, behold, I establish my covenant with you, 

10 and with your seed after you ; and with every living 
creature that is with you, the fowl, the cattle, and every 
wild beast of the earth with you ; of all that go out of 

1 1 the ark, even every wild beast of the earth. And I will 
establish my covenant with you, that all flesh shall not 
be cut off any more by the waters of the flood ; neither 
shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth. 

12 And God said. This is the token of the covenant which 
I make between me and you and every living creature 

13 that is with you, for perpetual generations : I do set 
my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of the 

14 covenant between me and the earth. And it shall come 
to pass, when I bring a cloud over the earth, and the bow 

15 shall be seen in the cloud, that I will remember my cove- 
nant, which is between me and you and every living crea- 
ture of all flesh ; and the waters shall no more become a 

16 flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the 
cloud, so that when I look upon it I may remember the 
everlasting covenant between God and every living crea- 

1 7 ture of all flesh that is upon the earth. And God said unto 
Noah, This is the token of the covenant which I have es- 
tablished between me and all flesh that is upon the earth, 

28 And Noah lived after the flood - - 350 years. 

29 And all the days of Noah were - - 960 years 
and he died. 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 323 

10 — i now this is the genealogy of the sons of noah, 
Shem, Ham and Japheth. 

The sons of Japheth : 2 

Gomer, and Magog, and Madai, and Javan, and 
Tubal, and Meshech, and Tiras. 
And the sons of Gomer : 3 

Ashkenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 
And the sons of Javan : 4 

Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Rodanim. 
Of these were the coast-lands of the Goiim divided in 
their lands. 

[These are the sons of Japheth] every one after his 
tongue ; after their families, in their nations. 

And the sons of Ham ; 6 

Cush, and Mizraim, and Put, and Canaan. 
And the sons of Cush ; 7 

Seba, and Havilah, and Sabtah, and Raamah, and 
Sabteca. 
And the sons of Raamah ; 8 

Sheba, and Dedan. 
These are the sons of Ham, after their families, after 20 
their tongues, in their lands, in their nations. 

The sons of Shem ; 22 

Elam, and Asshur, and Arpachshad, and Lud, and 
Aram. 
And the sons of Aram ; 23 

Uz, and Hul, and Gether, and Mash. 
These are the sons of Shem, after their families, after 31 
their tongues, in their lands, after their nations. 

These are the families of the sons of Noah, after their 32 
generations, in their nations : and from these the nations 
branched out in the earth after the flood. 

11 — 10 This is the Genealogy of Shem. 

Shem was 100 years 

old, and begat Arpachshad : and Shem lived 1 1 



324 THE PRIESTL V LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 450 B. C. 

after he begat Arpachshad - - - 500 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

12 And Arpachshad Hved . - . . 3^ years 

13 and begat Shelah : and Arpachshad lived after 

he begat Shelah . . . . . ^03 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

14 And Shelah lived . - . . . 30 years 

15 and begat Eber : and Shelah lived after he begat 

Eber -------- 403 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

16 And Eber lived 34 years 

17 and begat Peleg and Eber lived after he begat 

Peleg - - - - . . . 430 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

18 And Peleg lived 30 years 

19 and begat Reu : and Peleg lived after he begat 

Reu - - 209 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

20 And Reu lived '32 years 

2 1 and begat vSerug : and Reu lived after he begat 

Serug - - 207 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

22 And Serug lived ----- 30 years 

23 and begat Nahor : and Serug lived after he be- 
gat Nahor ------- 200 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

24 And Nahor lived ----- 29 years 

25 and begat Terah : and Nahor lived after he be- 
gat Terah ------- 119 years 

and begat sons and daughters. 

26 And Terah lived - - - - - 70 years 
and begat Abram, Nahor, and Haran. 

27 Now THIS IS THE GeNEALOGY OF TeRAH. 

Terah begat Abram, Nahor and Haran : and Haran be- 

31 gat Lot. And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the 

son of Haran, his son's son, and Sarai his daughter-in-law, 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 325 

his son Abram's wife, and went forth with them from Ur 
of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan : and they- 
came unto Haran, and dwelt there. 

And the days of Terah were - - - 205 years 32 

and Terah died in Haran. 

And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's 12 — 5« 
son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and 
the souls that they had gotten in Haran ; and they went 
forth to go into the land of Canaan ; and Abram was 4/; 
seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 

And they came into the land of Canaan. ^h 

And the land was not able to bear them, that they 13 — 6 
might dwell together : for their substance was great. And \\b 
they separated themselves the one from the other ; Abram 1 2 
dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the 
cities of the Plain. 

And it came to pass, when God destroyed the 19 — 29 
cities of the Plain, that God remembered Abram, and 
sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when he over- 
threw the cities in the which Lot dwelt. 

Now Sarai Abram's wife bare him no children, and 16 — i, 3 
Sarai Abram's wife took Hagar the Egyptian, her hand- 
maid, after Abram had dwelt ten years in the land of 
Canaan, and gave her to Abram her husband to be his 
wife. And Hagar bare Abram a son : and Abram called 15 
the name of his son, which Hagar bare, Ishmael. And 16 
Abram was fourscore and six years old, when Hagar bare 
Ishmael to Abram. 

And when Abram was ninety years old and nine God 17 
appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am El-Shaddai ; 
walk before me, and thou shalt be perfect. And I will 2 
make my covenant between me and thee, and will multi- 
ply thee exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face : and 3 
God talked with him, saying, As for my part, behold, my 4 
covenant with thee is that thou shalt be the father of a 
multitude of nations. Neither shall thy name any more 5 
be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham (as if= 



326 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC, 430 B. C. 

" Father of a multitude ") ; for the father of a multitude of 

6 nations do I make thee. And I will make thee exceeding 
fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall 

7 come out of thee. And I will establish my covenant be- 
tween me and thee and thy seed after thee throughout 
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God 

8 unto thee and to thy seed after thee. And I will give un- 
to thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land of thy sojoum- 
ings, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession ; 
and I will be their God. 

9 And God said unto Abraham, And as for thy part, thou 
shalt keep my covenant, thou, and thy seed after thee 

10 throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which 
ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee ; 

1 1 every male among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall 
be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskin ; and it shall 

12 be a token of a covenant betwixt me and you. And he 
that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, 
every male throughout your generations, he that is born 
in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which 

13 is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he 
that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised : 
and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting 

14 covenant. And the uncircumcised male who is not cir- 
cumcised in the flesh of his foreskin, that soul shall be cut 
off from his people ; he hath broken my covenant. 

15 And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou 
shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah (i. e. "Princess") 

16 shall her name be. And I will bless her, and moreover I 
will give thee a son of her : yea, I will bless her, and she 
shall be a mother of nations ; kings of people shall be of 

1 7, her. Then Abraham fell upon his face, and laughed, and 
said in his heart, Shall a child be born unto him that is an 
hundred years old ? and shall Sarah, that is ninety years 

18 old, bear ? And Abraham said unto God, Oh that Ishmael 

19 might live before thee ! And God said, Nay, but Sarah 
thy wife shall bear thee a son ; and thou shalt call his 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK F", CIRC. 430 B. C. 337 

name Isaac (from the stem meaning "to laugh"): and 
I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting 
covenant for his seed after him. And as for Ishmael (i. e. 20 
" God heareth "), I have heard thee ; behold, I have blessed 
him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him ex- 
ceedingly ; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make 
him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with 2 1 
Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in 
the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God 22 
went up from Abraham. And Abraham took Ishmael his 23 
son, and all that were born in his house, and all that 
were bought with his money, every male among the men 
of Abraham's house, and circumcised the flesh of their fore- 
skin in the selfsame day, as God had said unto him. And 24 
Abraham was ninety years old and nine, when he was cir- 
cumcised in the flesh of his foreskin. And Ishmael his 25 
son was thirteen years old, when he was circumcised in the 
flesh of his foreskin. In the selfsame day was Abraham 26 
circumcised, and Ishmael his son. And all the men of his 27 
house, those born in the house, and those bought with 
money of the stranger, were circumcised with him. 

And God did unto Sarah as he had promised, at 21 — \b-zb 
the set time of which God had spoken to him. And Abra- 3 
ham called the name of his son that was bom unto him, 
whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham circum- 4 
cised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had 
commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years 5 
old, when his son Isaac was bom unto him. 

And the life of Sarah was an hundred and seven and 23 
twenty years : these were the years of the life of vSarah. 
And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), in 2 
the land of Canaan : and Abraham came to mourn for 
Sarah, and to weep for her. And Abraham rose up from 3 
before his dead, and spake unto the children of Heth, say- 
ing, I am a stranger and a sojourner with you ; give me a 4 
possession of a buryingplace with you, that I may bury 
my dead out of my sight. And the children of Heth an- 5 



328 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 

6 swered Abraham, saying Pray, hear us, my lord : thou 
art a mighty prince among us : in the choice of our sepul- 
chres bury thy dead ; none of us shall withhold from thee 

7 his sepulchre, but that thou mayest bury thy dead. And 
Abraham rose up, and bowed himself to the people of the 

8 land, even to the children of Heth. And he communed 
with them, saying, If it be your mind that I should bury 
my dead out of my sight, hear me, and entreat for me to 

9 Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me the cave of 
Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end of his field ; 
for the full price let him give it to me in the midst of you 

10 for a possession of a buryingplace. Now Ephron was sit- 
ting in the midst of the children of Heth : and Ephron 
the Hittite answered Abraham in the audience of the chil- 
dren of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of his 

1 1 city, saying. Nay, my lord, hear me : the field I give thee, 
and the cave that is therein, I give it thee ; in the presence 
of the sons of my people give I it thee : bury thy dead. 

12 And Abraham bowed himself down before the people of 

13 the land. And he spake unto Ephron in the audience of 
the people of the land, saying. But if thou wilt, pra}^ 
hear me : I will give the price of the field ; take it of me, 

14 and I will bury my dead there. And Ephron answered 

15 Abraham, saying unto him. My lord, hearken unto me : a 
piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what 
is that betwixt me and thee ? bury therefore thy dead. 

16 And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron ; and Abraham 
weighed to Ephron the silver, which he had named in the 
audience of the children of Heth, four hundred shekels of 

17 silver, current money with the merchant. So the field of 
Ephron, which was in Machpelah, which was before Mamre, 
the field, and the cave which was therein, and all the trees 
that were in the field, that were in all the border thereof 

18 round about, were made sure unto Abraham for a posses- 
sion in the presence of the children of Heth, before all that 

19 went in at the gate of his city. And after this, Abraham 
buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah 



THE PRIESTL Y LA WBOOK F\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 339 

before Mamre (the same is Hebron) in the land of Canaan. 
And the field, and the cave that is therein, were made sure 20 
unto Abraham for a possession of a buryingplace by the 
children of Heth. 

And these are the days of the years of Abraham's life 25-7 
which he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. 
And Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old 8 
age, an old man, and satisfied with life : and was gathered 
to his people. And Isaac and Ishmael his sons buried him 9 
in the cave of Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son 
of Zohar the Hittite, which is before Mamre ; the field 10 
which Abraham purchased of the children of Heth : there 
was Abraham buried, and Sarah his wife. And it came i la 
to pass after the death of Abraham, that God blessed Isaac 
his son. 

12 Now THIS IS THE GeNEALOGY OF ISHMAEL, AbRAHAM'S 
SON, WHOM HaGAR THE EGYPTIAN, SaRAH'S 
HANDMAID, BARE UNTO ABRAHAM. 

These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their 13 
names, according to their generations. 
The firstborn of Ishmael, 

Nebaioth ; and Kedar, and Adbeel, 

and Mibsam, and Mishma, and Dumah, 14 

and Massa ; Hadad, and Tema, 15 

Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. 
These are the sons of Ishmael, and these are their 16 
names, by their villages, and by their encampments ; 
twelve princes according to their nations. And these are 1 7 
the years of the life of Ishmael, an hundred and thirty and 
seven years, and he gave up the ghost and died ; and was 
gathered unto his people. 

19 And THIS IS the Genealogy of Isaac, Abraham's son. 

Abraham begat Isaac ; and Isaac was forty years old 20 
when he took Rebekah, the daughter of Bethuel the Syrian 
of Paddan-aram, the sister of Laban the Syrian, to be his 
wife. [And Rebekah, Isaac's wife, bare him two sons, Esau 



330 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 450 B. C. 

26^ and Jacob]; and Isaac was threescore years old when she 

bare them. 
26-34 And when Esau was forty years old he took to wife 

Judith the daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath 
35 the daughter of Elon the Hittite : and they proved a grief 

28 of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah. And Isaac called 
Jacob, and blessed him, and charged him, and said unto 
him, Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Ca- 

2 naan. Arise, go to Paddan-aram, to the house of Bethuel 
thy mother's father ; and take thee a wife from thence of 

3 the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother. And El 
Shaddai bless thee, and make thee fruitful, and multiply 

4 thee, that thou mayest be a company of peoples ; and give 
thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed 
with thee ; that thou mayest inherit the land of thy so- 

5 journings, which God gave unto Abraham. And Isaac 
sent away Jacob : and he went to Paddan-aram unto 
Laban, son of Bethuel the Syrian, the brother of Re- 

6 bekah, Jacob's and Esau's mother. Now Esau saw that 
Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him away to Paddan- 
aram, to take him a wife from thence ; and that as he 
blessed him he gave him a charge, saying, Thou shalt not 

7 take a wife of the daughters of Canaan ; and that Jacob 
obeyed his father and his mother, and was gone to Pad- 

8 dan-aram : and Esau saw that the daughters of Canaan 

9 pleased not Isaac his father ; and Esau went unto Ish- 
mael, and took unto the wives which he had Mahalath 
the daughter of Ishmael Abraham's son, the sister of 
Nebaioth, to be his wife. 

[And Laban gave to Jacob his daughter Leah to wifej. 

29-24 And Laban gave Zilpah his handmaid to his daughter 

Leah for an handmaid. [And afterward he gave him also 

29 Rachel his younger daughter to wife]. And Laban gave 
to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her 
handmaid. [And when Jacob had dwelt twenty(?) years 

31-1 8 in Paddan-aram he took his wives and his children] and 
all his substance which he had gathered, the cattle of his 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 4^0 B. C. 331 

getting, which he had gathered in Paddan-aram, for to go to 
Isaac his father unto the land of Canaan. 

And God appeared unto Jacob, when he came from 35-9 
Paddan-aram, and blessed him. And God said unto him, 10 
Thy name is Jacob : thy name shall not be called any more 
Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name : and he called his name 
Israel. And God said unto him, I am El Shaddai : be fruit- 1 1 
ful and multiply ; a nation and a company of nations shall 
be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; and 12 
the land which I gave unto Abraham and Isaac, to thee I 
will give it. And God went up from him. And Jacob 13, 15 
called the name of the place where God spake with him, 
Beth-el. 

Now the sons of Jacob were twelve : 22b 

The sons of Leah ; 25 

Jacob's firstborn, Reuben, and Simeon, and Levi, 
and Judah, and Issachar, and Zebulun : 
The sons of Rachel ; 24 

Joseph and Benjamin : 
And the sons of Bilhah, Rachel's handmaid ; 25 

Dan and Naphtali : 
And the sons of Zilpah, Leah's handmaid ; 26 

Gad and Asher. 
These are the sons of Jacob, which were born to him in 
Paddan-aram. And Jacob came unto Isaac his father to 27 
Mamre, to Kiriath-arba (the same is Hebron), where Abra- 
ham and Isaac sojourned. And the days of Isaac were an 28 
hundred and fourscore years. And Isaac gave up the 29 
ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, old and 
full of days ; and Esau and Jacob his sons buried him. 

And Esau took his wives, and his sons, and his daugh- 36-6 
ters, and all the souls of his house, and his cattle, and all 
his beasts, and all his possessions, which he had gathered 
in the land of Canaan ; and went into the land [of SeirJ 
away from his brother Jacob. For their substance was 7 
too great for them to dwell together ; and the land of their 
sojoumings could not bear them because of their cattle. 



332 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 

8 — 37 — I So Esau dwelt in mount Seir : and Jacob dwelt in 
the land of his father's sojournings, in the land of Canaan. 

36 9 Now THIS IS THE GeNEALOGY OF ESAU THE FATHER 

OF THE EdOMITES IN MoUNT SeIR. 

40 These are the names of the sheikhs of Esau, according- 
to their families, after their places, by their names. 

Sheikh Timnah, Sheikh Alva, Sheikh Jetheth ; 

41 Sheikh Oholibamah, Sheikh Elah, Sheikh Pinon ; 

42 Sheikh Kenaz, Sheikh Teman, Sheikh Mibzar ; 

43 Sheikh Magdiel, [Sheikh Zepho,] Sheikh Iram : 
these be the sheikhs of Edom, according to their habita- 
tions in the land of their possession. 

37 — 2 This is the Genealogy of Jacob. 

When Joseph was seventeen years old [he went forth 
unto his brethren into the field. And his brethren sold 
him into Egypt. And he was there in bondage twelve 
years. And Pharaoh king of Egypt heard of the wisdom 
of Joseph, and made him governor over the land.] 

41 — 46 And Joseph was thirty years old when he stood be- 
fore Pharaoh king of Egypt. 

[And Joseph sent for his father and his brethren, saying. 
Come down unto me and dwell here, and I will give you 

46 — 6 the best of the land]. And they took their cattle, and 
their goods, which they had gotten in the land of Canaan, 
and came into Egypt, Jacob, and all his seed with him : 
7 his sons, and his sons' sons with him, his daughters, and 
his sons' daughters, and all his seed brought he with him 
into Egypt. 

47 — 5/^ (LXX) So Jacob and his sons came to Joseph unto 

Egypt, and when Pharaoh the king of Egypt heard of it, 

Pharaoh spake unto Joseph, saying. Thy father and thy 

6a brethren are come unto thee : the land of Egypt is before 

thee ; in the best of the land make thy father and thy breth- 

7 ren to dwell ; And Joseph brought in Jacob his father, and 

8 set him before Pharaoh : and Jacob blessed Pharaoh. And 



THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P\ CIRC. 430 B. C. 333 

Pharaoh said unto Jacob, How many are the days of the 
years of thy life ? And Jacob said unto Pharaoh, The 9 
days of the years of my sojournings are an hundred and 
thirty years : few and evil have been the days of the years 
of my life, and they have not attained unto the days of the 
years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourn- 
ings. And Jacob blessed Pharaoh, and went out from the 10 
presence of Pharaoh. And Joseph placed his father and 1 1 
his brethren, and gave them a possession in the land of 
Egypt, in the best of the land, in the land of Rameses, as 
Pharaoh had commanded. [So Israel dwelt] in the land 27 
of Egypt, and they gat them possessions therein, and were 
fruitful, and multiplied exceedingly. 

And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years : 28 
so the days of Jacob, the years of his life, were an hundred 
forty and seven years. 

And Jacob called his sons and blessed them ; every 40 — i, 28 
one according to his blessing he blessed them. And 48 — 3 
Jacob said unto Joseph, El Shaddai appeared unto me at 
Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, and said unto 4 
me. Behold, I will make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, 
and I will make of thee a company of peoples ; and will 
give this land to thy seed after thee for an everlasting pos- 
session. And now thy two sons, which were born unto 5 
thee in the land of Egypt before I came unto thee into 
Egypt, are mine ; Ephraim and Manasseh, even as Reuben 
and Simeon, shall be mine. And thy issue, which thou be- 6 
gettest after them, shall be thine ; they shall be called after 
the name of their brethren in their inheritance. 

And he charged them, and said unto them, I am 49 — 29 
to be gathered unto my people : bury me with my fa- 
thers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite, 
in the cave that is in the field of Machpelah, which is be- 30 
fore Mamre, in the land of Canaan, which Abraham bought 
with the field from Ephron the Hittite for a possession 
of a buryingplace : there they buried Abraham and Sarah 3 1 
his wife ; there they buried Isaac and Rebekah his wife ; 



334 THE PRIESTLY LA WBOOK P", CIRC. 430 B. C. 

32 and there I buried Leah [and Rachel] : the field and the 
cave that is therein, which was purchased from the chil- 

:^^ dren of Heth. And when Jacob made an end of charging 
his sons, he yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto 
his people. 

50 — 12 And his sons did unto him according' as he had com- 

13 manded them : for his sons carried him into the land of 
Canaan, and buried him in the cave of the field of Mach- 
pelah, which Abraham bought with the field, for a pos- 
session of a buryingplace, of Ephron the Hittite, before 
Mamre. 



APPE^NDIX I. 

THE GREAT FLOOD-INTERPOLATION J', 
CIRC. 700 B. C. 

[When* Grod created the heaven and the earth, the earth was I-2 
waste and void ; and darkness was upon the face of the abyss (Te- 
horn), and the spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the 
waters. And Grod said, Let there be light : and there was light. 3 
And trod saw that the light was good: and God divided the 4 
light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the 5 
darkness he called Night. 

And God said. Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, 6 
and let it be a partition between the different waters. And God 7 
made the dome, and divided the waters which were under the 
dome from the waters which were above the dome : and it was so. 
And God called the dome Heaven. 8 

And God said. Let the waters under the heaven be gathered to- 9 
gether unto one place, and let the dry land appear : and it was so. 
And God called the dry land Earth ; and the gathering together 10 
of the waters called he Seas : and God saw that it was good. And 11 
God said, Let the earth put forth verdure, herb yielding seed, and 
fruit tree bearing fruit after its kind, wherein is the seed there- 

Fragments of Tablet I, Assyrian Cosmogonic Epos. 

When the heaven above was not yet set apart, 

And the earth beneath was without a name — 

For the Abyss was their generator, 

The chaotic world-ocean (Tiamat) brought forth the whole — 

Their waters mingled and flowed united. 

The darkness was not yet removed, no plant had sprung up. 

When none of the gods had yet been produced. 

When they were still unnamed and no fate was [fixed], 

Then were the [great] gods created. 

(The gods) Lahmu and Lahamu were produced. 

also grew up. 

(The gods) Shar and Ki-shar (representing "the host of heaven and earth," 

Gen. ii. i) were created. 
The days were prolonged .... 

The god Anu 

The god Shar 

* Supplied from narrative of P. Gen. I. 



336 APPENDIX I. 

12 of, upon the earth : aiul it was so. And the earth brought forth 
verdure, herJ> yielding' seed after its liind, and tree bearing fruit, 
wherein is the seed thereof, after its kind : and God saw that it 
was good. 

14 And Crod said, Let there be lights in the dome of the heaven to 
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for 

15 seasons, and for days and years: and let them be for lights in the 
dome of the heaven to give light upon the earth ; and it was so. 

16 And Gcod made the two great lights ; the greater light to rule the 

17 day, and the lesser light to rule the night. And God set them in the 

18 dome of the heaven to give light upon the earth, and to rule over 
the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the dark- 
ness : and God saw that it was good. 

Fragments of the Fifth (?) Tablet. 

Excellently he made the mansions twelve] in number for the great gods (zodi- 
acal constellations). 

He brought forth the stars like lumasvi. 

He determined the year and appointed decades for it ; 

For each of the twelve months he appointed three stars 

From the day when the year begins until its end. 

He determined the mansions of the planets to define their orbits by a fixed time. 

So that none of them may fall short, and none be turned aside. 

He fixed the abodes of Bel and Ea near his own. 

He opened also perfectly the great gates (of heaven), 

Making their bolts solid to right and left ; 

And in his majesty he made himself steps there (the steps by which the sun 
mounts from the morning "gate" at the eastern horizon to the meridian, 
and descends to the evening "gate " at the western). 

He made Nannar (the moon) to shine, he joined it to vhe night, 

And fixed for it the seasons of its phases determining the days. 

For the entire month without interruption he appointed the form of its disk. 

In the beginning of the month when evening begins, 

Thy horns shall be for a sign to determine the times of the heaven ; 

The seventh day thou shalt be filling out thy disk. 

But the .... will partly expose its dark side. 

When the sun descends towards the horizon at the moment of thy rising, 

The limits exactly defined [of thy fulness] form its circle, 

[Afterwards] turn, draw near the path of the sun, 

turn, and let the sun transpose thy dark part, 

walk in its path, 

[Rire] and set, subject to the law of this destiny. 



[Uncertain fragments, probably belonging to the third (?) and fourth (?) 
tablets (cf. Geo. Smith, Chaldean Account of Genesis, Rev. Ed. p. 62ff. 
Lenormant, Beginnings of History, p. 49if. Schrader, Keili7ischrif- 
ten utid altes Testament, second edition, p. 15).] 



APPENDIX I. 337 

And €rod said, Let the waters swarm with swarms of liying 20 
creatures, and let fowl fly above the earth in the open dome of 
heaven. And God created the great sea-monsters, and every living 21 
creature that stirreth, whicli the waters swarmed witli, after their 
kinds, and every winged fowl after its kind : and God saw that it 
was good. And God blessed them, saying. Be fruitful, and multi- 22 
ply, and fill tlie waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the 
earth. 

And God said. Let the earth bring forth the living creature after 24 
its kind, cattle, and creeping tiling, and wild beast of the eartli 
after its kind : and it was so. And God made the wild beast of the 25 
earth after its kind, and the cattle after their kind, and every 
thing that creepeth upon the ground after its kind : and God saw 
that it was good. And God said, Let us make man in our image, 26 
after our likeness : and let them have dominion over tlie fish of 
the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over 
every beast of the earth, and over every creeping thing that 
creepeth upon the eai'th. So God created man in his own image, 27 
in the image of God created he him ; male and female ci'eated lie 
them. And God blessed them : and God said unto them. Be fruit- 28 
ful and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and 
have dominion over the flsh of the sea, and over the fowl of the 
air, and over every living thing that stirreth upon the earth. And 29 
God said, Behold, I have given you every herb yielding seed, 
which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the 
which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed ; to you it shall be for 
meat : and to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the 
air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein 
there is life, [I have given] every green herb for meat : and it was 
so. And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it 31 
was very good. 

So the heaven and the earth were finished and all their host.] 2— i 

Fragments from the Seventh (?) Creation Tablet. 

When the gods collectively had created 

They made excellently the stout trunks of trees (?), 

Brought forth living creatures 

The cattle of the field, the wild beasts of the field, and the creeping things of 
the [field]. 



[Uncertain fragments.] 



338 APPENDIX J. 

2—9 The tree of life also 

10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden ; and from 

11 thence it was parted, and became four heads. The name ©f the 
first is Pishon: that is it which compasseth the whole land of 

12 Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of that land is good: 

13 there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And the name of the second 
river is Gihon : the same is it that compasseth the whole land of 

14 Cush. And the name of the third river is Hiddekel : that is it 
which goeth in front of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphra- 

15 tes. And Yahweh Grod took the man, and put him into the garden 
of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 

The tree of life, or sacred plant of the Assyrian bas-reliefs, is guarded 
by winged genii (jT/r£'2/^/;«==cherubim) with eagle's heads. In Indian 
tradition (perhaps connected with the ancient Assyro-Babylonian) the 
tree appears springing from over the sacred fountain, Ardvz-gti?'a, in the 
centre of the garden of the gods at the top of Merit, the holy mountain 
of the north, and distilling the so7na or drink of immortality. Cf. Ez. 
xxviii. i3f. " Thou wast in Eden, the garden of God .... thou 
wast on the holy mountain of God." In Greek mythology the source of 
celestial immortality is the food ambrosia. Among all Oriental peoples 
traces remain of a primitive conception of a divine life resident in trees, 
and the tree of life is therefore common property in Oriental folk-lore. 
The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, on the contrary, is a meta- 
physical conception or modification of the myth by J^ the author of the 
Eden story. 

Eden=Assyrian Idiiiu. The geographical data may be compared 
with Gen. x. , as there the general story of xi. 1-9 is localized and made 
specific, so here the garden, which originally, vs. 8, was only " eastward 
in Eden," is localized; and the four "heads," w^hich were perhaps 
originally the same as the four divisions of the Indian holy fount, 
Ardvi-^ura, flowing to the four cardinal points, are localized and 
identified. — Pishon=perhaps Accadian Pisaanna, Assyrian Pisanu, 
"water-container." — (Jihon==perhaps Accadian Gtihan-D I. — The whole 
land of Cush is obviously intended to include also south Arabia, besides 
the country usually and properly designated Cush, i. e. Aethiopia and 
Nubia. The author accordingly seems to find the source of the Nile in 
Eden. The same remarkable conception of Cush extending to the 
Persian Gulf reappears in Gen. x. 6-8 (P on the basis of J-), and appears 
to rest upon a confusion of the Egyptian-Nubian Kes with the Babylon- 
ian Kas. — Hiddekel==Assyrian Plidiglat, Babylonian Idiglat ; i. e. the 
Tigris (Dan. x. 4).— Euphrates=Assyrian Btirat ; elsewhere simply 
"the River" (cf. Gen. xxxi. 21). 



APPENDIX I. 389 

And Tahweh said, Behold, the man is become as one of ns, to 3 — 22 
know good and evil ; and now, lest he put forth his hand, and 
take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever : therefore 
he drove out tlie man ; and he placed at the east of the garden of 24 
Eden the Cherubim, and the flame of a sword which whirled every 
way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 

And again she bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper 4—2 

Cherubim=Assyrian Kiroubim, the guardian genii represented b^/ 
human and eagle-headed, winged 'colossi, with bodies of bulls, at the 
entrance of palaces and temples. Greek Grups=^v^^v&\\. "griffon:" 
perhaps the same as Cerbertis, the dragon guardian of the entrance to 
the nether world. In Assyrian sculpture also they ' ' keep the way of 
the tree of life" (cf. Ez. i. 10; x. 14). — The flame (or "prodigy," "en- 
chantment ;" cf . Ex. vii. 1 1) of a (sickle-shaped) sword whirling every 
way, is the peculiar attribute of the cherub (perhaps a weapon like the 
Hindu tchakrd). Cf. the " wheels," i. e. whirling disks, of the cherubs 
in Ez. i. 15-21 ; x. 9-17, which are there said to contain the spirit of the 
cherubim and accompany them everywhere. An Accadian lyric {Ctmei- 
form Inscriptions of West Asia. Vol. II., pi. 19. No. 2) introduces 
this whirling disc as the weapon of a god. 

The Eden creation-story of J^ as appears from a recent discovery by 
Mr. Pinches (announced in The Academy of November 29, i8go), had 
also a Babylonian parallel beginning with the statement that no plant 
existed, placing the formation of man before that of plants and animals 
and mentioning an abode of delights. Here also the Tigris and Euphra- 
tes are mentioned. The evidence is decisive that Gen. ii. and this 
Babylonian story have at least a common stock. It is not impossible 
that what appear to be additions to the primitive narrative of J' will 
turn out to have been suggested by the Babylonian form of the story. 

Abel perhaps=Assyr. Abal{habat) " son," Accadian ibila, suggesting 
an Assyro-Babylonian origin for this section also, which in spite of its 
obvious relation to J' (cf. vs. 7 with iii. 16 ; iif. with iii. i7f. ; \A,b with 
\bb ; 15a with 24) is not originally of a piece with this document. Jabal 
here, vs. 20, is the father of shepherds, and Cain, after having become 
"a fugitive and a wanderer," vs. i4f, reappears in \bbi as a settled 
agriculturist and city-builder. The references to J' in vv. 7, 11, 14, 15, 
also turn out on closer inspection to be evidence for diversity and not 
identity of authorship. Verse 7, for example, misapplies the expression 
of iii. 16. The double character of Cain as city-builder (J') and fratricide 
(J^) may perhaps again be due to the double Assyro-Babylonian stock ; 
for as Lenormant observes {Beg. of Hist., pp. i46fF), in the duo-decimal 
Babylonian calendar, the third month is called "the month of brick- 
making," and also " the month of the twins," with the sign Gemitti. 



340 APPENDIX I. 

3 of sheep. And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain 
brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto Yahweh. 

4 And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the 

5 fat thereof. And Yahweh had respect unto Abel and to his offering : 
but unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain 

6 was very wroth, and his countenance fell. And Yahweh said unto 
Cain, Why art thou wroth ? and why is thy countenance fallen? 

7 If thou doest well, is it not lifted up % and if thou doest not well, 
sin coHcheth at the door : and unto thee shall be his desire, and 

S tliou Shalt rule over him. And Cain said unto Abel his brother, 
And it came to pass, when they were in the field, that 

9 Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him. And Yah- 
weh said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother % And he said, 1 

10 know not : am I my brother's keeper 2 And he said. What hast 
thou done I the voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from 

11 the ground. And now cursed art thou from the ground, which 
hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother's blood from thy 

12 hand; when thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield 
unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a wanderer shalt thou 

13 be in the earth. And Cain said unto Yahweh, My punishment 

14 is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out 
this day from the face of the ground ; and from thy face shall I 
be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer (nad) in the 
earth ; and it shall come to pass, that whosoever findeth me shall 

15 slay me. And Yahweh said unto him. Therefore whosoever slay- 
Each month had its peculiar myth and related zodiacal sign. Thus the 
eleventh with the sign Aquarius was called " the month of the curse of 
rain," and its myth was that of the Flood. (See next page.) That of the 
first, called, " the month of the altar of the demiurge " was the creation 
of the world ; of the second, "the month of the propitious bull" (i. e. 
Ea, the god originator of humanity), was the creation of man. The 
myth, or myths, belonging with the third month, and the sign Gefnmi, 
have not yet been discovered, the only hint of their (its?) character 
being in the two names, "month of brick-making " and " month of the 
twins," with which Lenormant compares the Egyptian, Greek and 
Roman myths connecting fratricide with the founding of a city, and 
the Phoenician myth of Cain, twin brother of Adam 7nin-haadamah. 
"These are they," says Sanchoniathon. "who found out how to mix 
chopped straw with clay to make bricks, how to dry them in the sun, 
and to build houses with roofs." 

Here we have perhaps a union of two ancient myths, one of fratricide 
and the other of city-building, the former, neglected by J', having been 
introduced by J'^. 



APPENDIX I. 341 

eth Cain, yengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And Yah- 
weh appointed a si^n for Cain, lest any finding- him shonld smite 
him. So Cain went out from the presence of Yahweh. i6 

And Adam knew his wife again ; and she bare a son, and called 25 
his name Seth : For, [said she,] €}od hath appointed {shatH) me an- 
other seed instead of Abel ; for Cain slew him. And to Seth, to 26 
him also there was born a son ; and he called his name Enosli : 
then began men to call upon the name of Yahweh. 

[And unto Enosh was born Kenan; and Kenan begat Enoch] 
and Enoch walked before Yahweh, [and he was not, for Yahweh 5 — 22 
took him]. 

"Then Bel listened to reason and mounted to the interior of the vessel. He 
took my hand and made me to rise, lifted up my wife also, and laid her hand in 
mine; he turned himself to us, stood between us, and blessed us, [saying], 
' Hitherto Shamash-napishti was human, but now shall Shamash-napishti and 
his wife be like unto the gods, they are lifted up to live like them, and Shamash- 
napishti shall dwell far off at the mouth of the rivers.' So they took me and 
gave me a dwelling far off at the mouth ot the rivers." 

IV. 25f. By the interpolation of these two verses the seven-Unked 
genealogy of J' is considered to have been expanded to nine links. The 
substitution of Noah in place of Jabal, Jubal and Tubal, to be the 
son (instead of grandson ?) of Lamech, produced then a ten-linked gene- 
alogy, corresponding exactly with the AssjTian genealogy of ten prim- 
eval kings or patriarchs, of whom the tenth is Hasisadra, the flood-hero 
and repopulator of the world. Very little inventive power was required, 
since the names Seth and Enosh are respectively synonymous with Cain 
and Adam. The expansion of the genealogy to correspond in number 
with the Assyrian was apparently accompanied by a slight alteration of 
the remaining names. As before, in the case of the Creation story; the 
priestly writer naturally follows the amended version, so that what is 
now missing from J'^'s genealogy of the Sethites may be readily supplied 
from P. 

The singular notice which in P's genealogy of Adam is attached to 
the name of Enoch, Budde ( Urgesch. ch. v.) considers to be derived, like 
V. 29, from his J source. But in J^ the name of Enoch appears uncon- 
nected with any tradition. Since in all of P's genealogies there is the 
miost rigid exclusion of every trace of material of this nature, we must 
attribute to J'^ the interesting notice of the apotheosis of Enoch and very 
possibly even the 365 years which apparently indicate his connection 
with sun-myths. Budde further conjectures that this tradition also was 
borrowed from the Assyro-Chaldaean epos. In Col. IV., lines 23-30, 
Xisuthros-Hasisadra, whose name as usually written in the tablets is 
Shamash-napishti=" sun of life," relates the story of his own apotheosis 
as above. 



342 



APPENDIX I. 



[And Enoch begat Jared, and Jared begat Mahalalel, and Ma- 
halalel begat Methuselah, and Methuselah begat Lamech. And 

5—29 unto Lamech there was born] a son : and he called his name 
Noah, saying, This same shall comfort (Heb. nahem) us for our 
work and for the toil of our hands, from the ground which Yah- 
weh hath cursed. 

(j — 5 And Yaliweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in 

If this be the source of the tradition, J^, in adopting the story, divided 
the character of the Assyrian flood-hero in accordance with the signifi- 
cance of the name Hasis-adra ("prudent-reverent," nearly the equiva- 
lent of " righteous and perfect," Gen. vi. 9) as flood-hero, transmitting his 
r61e to Noah, the tenth from Adam, and for Shamash-napishti, the "sun 
of life," made immortal like the gods and taken to dwell with them, sub- 
stituting Enoch the fifth from Adam. 

The fragments of Berosus, which give the corresponding list of ten 
ante-diluvian kings ending with the Flood-hero, can be corrected in a 
few cases by the cuneiform tablets. The list is as follows, and we set 
side by side with it the list of J' and the expanded list of J^ 



ChaldcBO-A s Syrian, 


J' 


J^ 


Adoros (Adiuru) 


Ha-adam 


Adam 


Alaparos 




Seth 


Almelon 




Enosh 


Ammenon (Hammanu) 


Cain 


[Kenan] 


Amegalaros 


Enoch 


Enoch 


Daonos 


Irad 


[Jared] 


Edoranchos 


Mehujael 


[Mahalalel] 


Amemphsinos 


Methusael 


[Methuselah] 


Obartes (Ubaratutu) 


Lamech 


Lamech 




Jabal Jubal Tubal 




Xisuthros (Hasisadra 


Noah 


Noah 



Shem Japheth Canaan Shem Ham Japheth 

"Noah the husbandman" may have been suggested, not only by his 
appropriate position in the original genealogy, and as the father of the 
populations of West Asia, but also by the favorable etymology which the 
writer of the original genealogy had attached to his name, as a suitable 
character to be selected for the role of the Assyro-Babylonian flood-hero. 

The cuneiform Flood-story is an episode of the so-called Izdubar 
legends, which constitute the great Babylonian national epos, celebrating 
the deeds of king Izdubar of Erech on twelve tablets containing a total 
of some 3,000 lines. For an offense against the goddess Ishtar Izdubar 
is smitten with disease, and betakes himself for healing to his ancestor 



APPENDIX I. 343 

the earth, and that eyery imagination of the thoughts of his heart 
was only evil continually. And it repented Tahweh that he had 6 
made man on the earth, and it g-rieved him at his heart. And 7 
Yahweh said, 1 will blot out man from the face of the ground ; 
for it repenteth me that I have made them. But Noah found 8 
grace in the eyes of Yahweh. 

(J2 underlying P.) [And Yahweh said unto Noah, The end 6— 13-16 
of all flesh is come before me. Behold, 1 will blot out man from 
the face of the ground because their wickedness is great, but thou 
hast found grace in mine eyes : Therefore build thee an ark of 
gopher wood ; thou shalt make the ark of compartments and shalt 
pitch it within and without with pitch. And this is how thou 
shalt make it : the length of the ark three hundred cubits, the 
breadth of it fifty cubits and the hight of it thirty cubits. Thou 
shalt make a light for the ark at the top, and shalt finish it to a 
cubit, and the door of the ark shalt thou set in the side thereof: 
with lower, second and third stories shalt thou make it. And 22 
Noah built the ark as Yahweh commanded him.] 

Shamasli-napishti, surnamed Hasisadra, " at the mouth of the rivers,'' 
whither he was removed by the gods. Arrived there, Shamash-napishti 
relates at his request the story of his escape from the Flood and subse- 
quent apotheosis. The narrative is as follows : — 

Shamash-napishti also said to Izdubar, Let me reveal to thee, O Izdubar, the 
narrative of my preservation, and let me tell thee the decree of the gods. The 
city Shurippak. the city which as thou knowest is situate on the Euphrates, this 
was already ancient when the gods in it were moved by-their heart to institute 
a Deluge (Assyr. A6udu=H.eh. maddul, a nomen proprium of the Flood). The 
great gods were there : their father Anu, their counsellor, the warlike Bel, their 
throne-bearer Adar, their prince Ennugi. The lord of unsearchable wisdom 
also, the god Ea, sat [in counsel] among them and reported their conclusion to 
his worshipper (?). " Worshipper, worshipper, venerable, venerable (?) [said he] 

worshipper, hear ... . and give heed, venerable Shurripa- 

kite, son of Ubara-tutu. Forsake thine house, build a ship, leave of 

life, they are determined to destroy the seed of life. Preserve thou alive and 
bring up into the interior of the vessel the seed of life of every sort. The ship 

which thou shalt build cubits shall be its measure in length [and] 

cubits the equal measure of its breadth and hight ; and 

sea it, provide it also with a deck." When I understood this, I said to Ea, my 
lord : ' ' [The building of the ship] O lord, which thou hast commanded , [if] I carry 
it out, the people and the elders [will laugh at me]." [Ea opened his mouth 
and] spake, saying to me his servant : " [If they laugh at thee] thou shalt say to 

them. Whoever abuses me and surely I and I will 

the vault of heaven above and beneath I will judge. 

[But thou, shut not the door until be come] the time when I shall send th[ee] 
word. [Then] enter in through the door of the ship and bring [into] its interior 
thy store of grain, all thy possessions and wealth, thy [family], thy servants and 
thy handmaids and [thy] relatives." 



344 APPENDIX I. 

7 And Taliweh said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into 
the ark ; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this genera- 

2 tion. Of every clean heast thou shalt take to thee seven and 
seven, the male and his female ; and of the beasts that are not 

3 clean two, the male and his female ; of the fowl also of the air, 
seven and seven, to keep seed alive upon tJie face of all the earth. 

4 For yet seven days, and I will cause it to rain upon the earth 
forty days and forty nights ; and every living thing that I have 

5 made will I blot out from oflF the face of the ground. And Noah 
did according unto all that Yahweh commanded liim. 

7 And Noah went in, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons 
wives with him, into the ark, because of the waters of the flood. 

8 Of clean beasts, and of beasts tliat are not clean, and of fowls, and 

9 of every thing that creepeth upon the ground, there went in two 
and two unto Noah into the ark, as Yahweli commanded Noah, 

1 6(5 And Yahweh shut him in. 

The [cattle] of the field, the wild beasts of the field, everything that 

[will I] send to thee, to the end that [thy] gate may preserve [them all].— [Adra]- 
hasis opened his mouth and spake and [s]aid to Ea [his] lord: O my lord, no 

[one] has ever built a vessel [in this fashion] 49 [upon the la]nd ; 

50 may I see and the ship 51 upon th« 

land 52 as thou hast commanded 

25. I collected all that I had ; I collected all the silver I had ; 26. I collected all 
the gold I had ; 27. all that I had of seed of life of all kinds [I collected], and all 
this 28. I brought up into the ship ; all my company, male and female ; 29. the 
cattle of the field, the wild beasts of the field, and all my relatives, I made to 
go on board. 30. Now when the sun had brought the appointed time, 31. a 
voice (?) proclaimed : " In the evening the heavens shall rain destruction. 32. 
Enter in to the [int]erior of the ship and shut thy door ; 33. the appointed time 
is come. 34. In the evening, proclaimed the voice (?), the heavens shall rain 
destruction. 35. With terror I awaited the setting of the sun on that day (?). 36. 
I held in dread the day of embarkation. 37. But I entered in to the interior of 
the ship and shut my door behind me, 38. to close the vessel. To Buzurkurgal, 
the pilot, 39. I entrusted the great structure with its cargo. 

Col. II. 1-24. [In these lines the building of the vessel was described 
m detail. The beginning of the description, which formed the conclu- 
sion of Col. I. is missing. According to line 6, it appears that the con- 
struction lasted exactly a week. As Noah divided the ark in three par- 
titions ("stories"), so Hasisadra also (line 7) divides the interior into 
different stories. The number unfortunatel)^ is missing. Lines 10-12 
are also plain. " I saw fissures (leaks) and supplied that which was 
lacking. Three sar (a liquid measure) of bitumen I poured over the 
exterior. Three sar of pitch over the interior." At the close it mav 
be gathered from the fragmentary lines that Hasisadra pro\nsioned the 
ship with food and dnnk.] (See Schrader's Kcilinschr., pp. yof.) 



APPENDIX I. 345 

And it came to pass after the seven days, that the waters of lo 
the flood were upon the earth. And the rain was upon the earth 12 
forty days and forty nig-hts. And the waters increased and bare \ib 
up the ark so that it was lift up above the earth. All in whose 22 
nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, 
died. So he (Yahweh) blotted out every living thing- which was 23 
upon the face of the ground : and Noah only was left, and they 
that were with him in the ark. 

[And it came to pass at the end of seven days that the storm 8 — 2b 

40. Then arose Mu-sheri-ina-namari from the foundations of the sky, a black 
cloud, 42. in the midst of which Ramman thundered, 43. Nebo and Sherru 
march against one another, 44. the throne-bearers stride over mountain and 
plain. 45. The powerful god of pestilence looses the whirlwinds (?). 46. Adar 
makes the canals (?) to overflow incessantly, 47. the Anunaki bring floods, 48. 
they make the earth to tremble with their might. 49. Ramman's inundation 
mounts aloft to the sky, all light vanished before the [darkness]. 

Col. III. I of the earth they destroy like 2 

mountain (?) 3. the they bring nigh to fight against 

man. 4. The brother no longer looks after his brother, men no longer are con- 
cerned about one another. In heaven 5. the gods are afraid at the Deluge and 
6. seek refuge, they mount aloft to the heaven of Anu. Like a dog in its kennel 
the gods cower together at the lattice of heaven. 8. Ishtar cries out like a 
woman in travail, 9. the great goddess cries with a loud voice [saying] 10. 
"mankind has returned to clay (slime); 11. the evil which I predicted before 
the gods. 12. Thus did I foretell the disaster before the gods. 13. I foretold the 
war of extermination which would be waged against them. 14. But I did not 
bring mankind to birth that 15. they like the spawn of fish should fill the sea !" 
16. Then the gods wept with her for the (deed of the) Anunaki ; 17. upon one 
spot the gods sat down with lamentation ; 18. their lips they pressed together 

destiny. 19. Six days and seven nights 20 wind, flood and storm 

prevailed, 21 but at the breaking of the seventh day the storm was quieted, the 
flood, which 22 had battled like a mighty army 23. was appeased ; the sea dimin- 
ished, and storm and flood ceased. 

24. I sailed through the sea weeping, 25. that the dwellings of men were turned 
to slime ; 26. like tree-trunks the corpses floated about. 27. I had opened a port- 
hole, and as the daylight fell upon my face, 28. I was overwhelmed with sorrow 
and sat down weeping ; the tears flowed over my face. 30. I sailed through the 
territories, (now) a dreadful ocean ; 31. then emerged a bit of land twelve 
measures high. 32. To the land of Nizir (the mountain region eastward from 
the Tigris, beyond the lower Zab, between the 35th and 36th parallels, which 
dominates the plain of Assyria. If Semitic, Nizir means "rescue") drifted the 
ship. 33. The mountain of the land of Nizir held the ship and would not let it 
pass. 34. The first and second da)^ the mountain Nizir held the ship, etc. 35. 
The third and fourth day the mountain Nizir held, etc. 36. The fifth and sixth 
day the mountain Nizir held, etc. 37. At the breaking of the seventh day 38. I 
brought forth a dove and loosed it. The dove flew hither and thither ; but when 
39. no resting-place appeared, it returned again. 40. Then I brought forth a 
swallow and released it. The swallow flew hither and thither ; but when 41. no 
resting-place appeared, it returned again. 42. Then I brought forth a raven and 
released it. 43. The raven flew away, and when it saw that the waters had dim- 
ished 44. it drew near again, cautiously wading, but did not return. 



346 APPENDIX I. 

3 ceased], and tlie rain from heaven was restrained ; and the waters 

6 returned from oflF the earth continually. And it came to i>ass at 
the end of forty days, that Noah opened the window of the ark 

7 which he had made : and he sent forth a raven, and it went forth 

8 to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth. And 
he [stayed seven days and] sent forth a dove from him, to see if 

9 the waters were abated from off the face of the ground ; but the 
dove found no rest for tlie sole of her foot, and she returned unto 
him to the ark, for the waters were on the face of the whole 
earth : and lie put forth his hand, and took her, and brought her 

CO in unto him into the ark. And he stayed yet other seven days ; 

II and again he sent forth the dove out of the ark; and the dove 
came in to him at eventide ; and, lo, in her mouth a fresh olive 
leaf: so Noah knew that the waters were "vbated from off the 

[2 earth. And he stayed yet other seven days; and sent forth the 

\.2,b dove; and she returned not again unto him any more. And 
Noah removed the cover of tlie ark, and looked, and, behold, the 
face of the ground was dried. 
[Then Noah and all that were with him in the ark went forth.] 

JO And Noah builded an altar unto Yahweh, and took of every clean 
beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the 

Ji altar. And Yahweh smelled the sweet savour; and Yahweh said 
in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for 
man's sake ; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his 
youth ; neither will I again smite any more every living thing, 

22 as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and har- 
vest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and 
night shall not cease. 

)— II-I7 (J2 underlying P.) [And Yahweli made a covenant with 
Noah, and said, Behold I do set my bow in the sky, and it shall 
be the token of this covenant between me and thee and all flesh, 
that tlie waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.] 

45. Then I sent forth (all) toward the four winds ; I offered a sacrifice. 46. I 
built an altar on the peak of the mountain ; 47. seven by seven I placed the 
adagu7'-Ya.s,&s, ; 48. beneath them I spread out reeds, cedar and juniper. 40. The 
gods inhaled the fragrance, the gods smelled the sweet savour, 50. like flies the 
gods gathered above the head of the offerer. 

51. When at length the goddess Ishtar drew near, 52. she raised aloft the great 

bows which Anu had made according to [and said] 53. "These gods be 

the jewels of my neck ! Col. IV. i. I shall not forget these days, I will remem- 
ber them and not forget them forever. 2. Let the gods come to the altar, 
3. only Bel shall not come to the altar, 4. because he did heedlessly and made 
the Deluge, s- and delivered my men to destruction." 6. When at length Bel 
drew near and saw the ship he was aghast, 7. he was filled with wrath (?) 
against the gods and the Igigi (celestial spirits). 8. " What man is this that has 



APPENDIX I. 347 

And the sons of Noah, that went forth of the ark, were Shein, i8 
and Ham, and Japheth: and Hani is the father of Canaan. 
These three were the sons of Noah, and unto them sons iga— 10— i^ 
were born after the flood, and of these was the whole earth ^—\<^b 
overspread. 

escaped? No mortal is to remain alive in the destruction." 9. Then Adar 
opened his mouth and spake, saying to the warlike Bel, 10. " Who indeed but 
Ea can have contr [ived] this thing ? n. Ea knew of it and informed him of all." 
12. Then Ea opened his mouth and spake to the warlike Bel, saying : 13. " Thou 
art the war[rior] prince of the gods ; 14. but why, why hast thou wrought so 
recklessly and didst prep[are] the Deluge? 15. Let the sinner's iniquity fall 
upon him, let the presumption of the presumptuous fall upon him. 16. (But) be 
not relentless, that he be not blotted out ; be merciful, so that he may not 

17. Instead of (thy) making a Deluge let lions come and decima[te] 

mankind ; 18. instead of thy making a Deluge let hyaenas come and deci[mate] 
mankind ; 19. instead of thy making a Deluge let famine appear and [consume] 
the land ; 20. instead of thy making a Deluge let the god of pestilence come and 
dec[imate] mankind ! 21. I did not reveal to him the decision of the great gods. 
22. I (only) sent a dream to Adrahasis and he understood the decision of the 
gods." (I. e. he possessed this power through his piety ; an impious man would 
not have understood the revelation.) 23. Then Bel listened to reason, 
mounted to the interior of the ship, 24. took my hand and lifted me up, raised 
up my wife also and placed her hand in mine, 26. turned himself to us, stood 
between us and blessed us : " Hitherto Shamash-napishti was mortal, 28. but 
now shall Shamash-napishti and his wife be lifted up to be like unto the gods. 
29. And Shamash-napishti shall dwell far off at the mouth of the rivers !" 30. 
Then they took me and gave me a dwelling-place far off at the mouth of the 
rivers. 

"After the Flood." Hebrew achar hafn-mabbul^A&syr. arki a-bu- 
bi, a phrase occurring in the title of an ancient Babylonian list of kings 
and in Berosus-Polyhistor : " These are the kings who reigned after the 
Flood." J2, however, naturally does not confine himself to the idea of 
Noah as ancestor of a line of Babylonian kings, but returns to the 
Hebrew line through Shem. The Assyro-Chaldean conception which he 
has adopted of Noah as repopulator of the earth, compels him to alter 
the original triad of Noah's sons, from Shem,^the Hebrew stock, Japheth, 
=Philistine (or Phoenician?), and Canaan ; to a triad suggestive of the 
three world divisions, Asia, Africa and Europe. This is very simply 
done by introducing Ham (Egyptian Chemi) as father of Canaan. J* 
was of course not embarrassed by ethnological considerations, although 
the triad must have originally been of Semitic peoples. The table of 
nations, ch. x., then takes the place probably of a simple seven-linked 
genealogy in J^ Here evidence might be found of Assyrian influence 
in the geographical knowledge displayed, for although no Assyrian 
table of nations like Gen. x. has been discovered, the isolated names are 
largely represented on Assjrrian monuments. On the other hand, J^ 
does not depend on J', for in iv. 22 we found Tubal as father of smiths, 



348 APPENDIX I. 

10—2 (J^ underlying P.) [Unto Japlieth were born Gromer, and Ma- 
gog, and Madai, and Jaran, and Tubal, and Mesclieeh, and Tiras. 

3 And Gromer begat Aslikenaz, and Riphath, and Togarmah. 

4 And Javan begat Elishah, and Tarshish, Elttim, and Bodanim. 

6 (J2 underlying P.) And unto Ham were born Cush, and Mizraim, 
8 and Canaan.] And Cush begat Ninirod : he was the first gibbor 

10 (tyrant 2) in the earth. And the beginning of his kingdom was 
Babel, and Erech, and Acead, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. 

11 Out of that land he went forth into Assyria, and builded 

perhaps ancestor of the Armenian peoples, whereas in x. 2 (P on the 
basis of J'^) he is a son of Japheth. Sheba and Dedan are sons of Abra- 
ham in XXV. 3 (J') ; here descendants of Ham. Babylon, founded accord- 
ing to xi. 1-9 (J^) by the primitive human community, is here, x. 10, 
founded by Nimrod, who seems to be identified with the Assyrian Gil- 
games (Izdubar). 

Gromer, Magog (?), Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meschech, Togarmah, are 

all known to the Assyrian monuments by names nearly or quite identi- 
cal. For the well-known Kittim (Cyprus, Kition) they use another name. 

Cush and Mizraim=Assyr. Kusu and Musur. Kash, the land of the 
Kashu, formed an important part of Babylonia, and occurs frequently. 
Nimrod seems to be, like Noah, a Hebrew hero who is made to play the 
part of the hero of Assyrian national epos, Gilgames (Izdubar). The 
conjecture may perhaps be deemed not too hazardous that the Hebrew 
Nimrod, the gibbor-cayid or hunter-hero, is the counterpart to Noah the 
Ish-ha-ada7nah, or " husbandman," the two corresponding to Sancho- 
niathon's Agros and Agrotes, whom Lenormant {Beg. of Hist., p. 160) 
identifies with Sade and (^aid, the husbandman and the hunter in the 
cosmogonic narrative. And the beginning of his kingdom was Babel, 
and Erech, and Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar. A bit of 
Assyrian history which records the northward progress of culture, re- 
ligion, letters and political supremacy from Babylonia to Assyria. 
The geographical names have as their Assyrian counterparts respec- 
tively Bab-zlu, Uruk, Akkad, Ktil-mu {?), Shumzru. 

Out of that land, etc. In agreement with Assyrian history. Builded 
Nineveh, etc. Calah did not attain the eminence of a royal residence 
until the ninth century B. C. Previously it had lain in ruins. Asur- 
nazir-habal says : — 

"The ancient city Kalhu, which Shalmanezer, the great, king of Assyria (1300 
B. C), who reigned before me, founded, this city lay waste and was ruined ; this 
city I rebuilt." 

The great city. An expression for the city-complex in which Nineveh, 
Calah, and Resen (=Assyr. Nznua, Kalhu, and Pz'sAz'n{?), are suburbs or 



APPENDIX I. 349 

Nineveh, and Rehoboth-Ir, and Calah, and Resen between Nine- 12 
Teh and Calah (the same is the great city). And Mizraim begat 13 
Lndim, and Anamini, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhini, and Pathru- 14 
Sim, and Casluhim (whence went foi'th the Philistines), and 
Caphtorim. 

And Canaan begat Zidon his iirstborn, and Heth : and after- 15, i8i5 
ward were the families of the Canaanite spread abroad. And the 19 
border of the Canaanite was from Zidon, as thou goest toward 
Gerar, unto (xaza ; as thou goest toward Sodom and Gomorrah, 
and Admah and Zeboiim, unto Lasha. 

quarters. It points to a time before Sennacherib, when the name Nineveh 
had not yet become, as in Jonah and from 705 B. C. downward, thecommon 
designation for the whole. Rehobotli-lr is doubtless an expression for 
the business and residence portion of the city as distinct from the three 
palace mounds mentioned. It cannot be identified with the dur Sharru- 
kz'n, or " city of Sargon," of the inscriptions, built 707 B. C. ; and the 
omission furnishes important evidence for the date of this verse. 
Equally significant, however, is the omission of all reference to the 
founding of Asshur long before the elevation of Nineveh to its station as 
capital of the empire. In spite of its former pre-eminent importance, 
this former capital had already, in the Sth century B. C, long since 
passed into oblivion. 

Zidon and Heth. (Assyr. Szdumi and Haiti.) The latter properly 
employed by Assyrian scribes from 1100-750 B. C. to designate the im- 
portant people dwelling between the Euphrates and Mediterranean in 
the extreme north of Syria. But with the gradual occupation of this 
region by the Assyrians from the time of Tiglath-Pileser II. to Sargon 
(745-727 and 722-705 B. C), and the incorporation in 708 of the two Hittite 
states, Carchemish and Commagene, the name was transferred to 
Canaan, Philistia, Edom, Ammon, and Moab, a territory which pre- 
viously cannot have had more than unimportant and isolated Hittite 
colonies (Gen. xii. 6 ; xiii. 7), even if the so-called ' ' Hittites " of Gen. 
xxiii. and elsewhere, were not, as we should gather from a comparison of 
the proper names, entirely unrelated to the true Hittites. Under Senna- 
cherib and Esarhadon mat Hatti, " land of the Hittites," becomes the 
uniform though incorrect designation of Palestine. "Canaan" is un- 
known. With this fact should be compared the division of the original 
Canaanite stock by J-, vs. 15, into Zidonians and Hittites, " and after- 
ward the Canaanites," and more especially the practise of P, who, 
perhaps with regard to this verse, makes it a point always to substitute 
in his narrative " Hittite " for " Perizzite," " Jebusite," " Canaanite " or 
" Hivite " of the prophetic narrative. (Cf. e. g. Gen. xxiii. with xxxiii. 
i8ff.) 



35D APPENDIX I. 

21 And unto Shem, the elder brother of Japheth, to him also were 

25 children born. [Eber and . . . . ] And unto Eber were born 
two sons : the name of the one was Peleg (Division) ; for in his 
days was the earth divided ; and his brother's name was Joktan. 

26 And Joktan begat Almodad, and Sheleph, and Hazarmayeth, and 
27,28 Jerah; and Hadoram, and Uzal, and Diklali; and Obal, and 

29 Abimael, and Sheba; and Ophir, and Uayilah, and Jobab; all 

30 these were the sons of Joktan. And their dwelling- was from 
Mesha as thou goest toward Sephar, the mountain of the east. 

(J2 underlying- 11 : 10-27.) [And Peleg begat Reu, and Reu be- 
gat Serug, and Serug begat Terah, and Terah begat Abram, 
11— 28 Nahor, and Haran. And Terah dwelt] in Ur of the Chaldees. 

From the critical standpoint it is impossible to accept Ur of the Chal- 
dees (= £/r J/«^^ay«r in southern Babylonia) as the "fatherland" of 
Abram. Not to speak of the fact that, as ancestor of Shem, Japheth, and 
Canaan,Noah,inJ', would be out of place in Babylonia, Gen. xxiv. 4, 7, 10, 
makes it a positive certainity that in J' Abram's " fatherland " was Aram 
Naharaim and the city of Nahor. It is difficult to account for the 
strange introduction here of the name of an extremely ancient town in 
south Babylonia except as the necessity of the Flood-story compelled its 
incorporator to adapt the story to its scene. " Ur of the Chaldees" 
may well be regarded as the last link by which the great Flood interpo- 
lation, based upon the Assyro-Chaldean national epos, was attached to the 
primitive Hebrew saga. Having taken Noah from Aram Naharaim, the 
home of the vine, to the scene of the Babylonian Flood-story, he must 
now bring back Noah's descendants from " Ur of the Chaldees " in order 
to attach his interpolation to the primitive narrative of how Abram 
went forth from Aram Naharaim and came into the land of Canaan. 



APPENDIX II. 



Hebrew Notes. 

(1) Jud. 15:16. For 

Opinion niDH "iiDnn ^n':'n 

read ' 

Since writing the foregoing, I have found the same emendation pro- 
posed by Schenckel in his Bibellexikon, s. v. Lehi. The emendation is 
so obvious that it may well have suggested itself to many students 
independently. 

(2) Gen. 1:1 and 2:4a. Eead p^HI D^Dtm nil'^in n'lii 

(3) 1:26. After '^3 insert Jl^jl • 

(4) 4:22. For ri^^nH t^n '71) JTtD'? f^p , read tJ^nil ^f±> ♦Hn 

(5) 6:1-4, Omit v. 3 and v. 4 to "ItJ^J^ and insert •) consecutive. 
The usual form of Hebrew sentence for a statement of the birth of 
children is 

This form is interrupted and destroyed by 3,4a, the last named clause 
being in addition admittedly corrupt. The author prefers therefore to 
regard the first clause of v. 4 (to ")tJ^J<) as a gloss intended to identify 
the D^'^flJ of Num. 13:33 with the DHDJ of the original writer, 
whereas in the first place only the origin of the D^^^IHJl was intended, 
rather than adopt any of the numerous conjectures which assume an 
identity in the mind of the original writer of D^'^flJ and DH^^ • 

(6) 9:26sq. Budde conjectures in v. 26 QJJ^ HIH^ ^D^ (cf- 24:31 
and 27:29), and in v. 27 the alliterative reading ri£3^'^ niH* n£3* • 

(351) 



352 APPENDIX. 

(7) 10:9 piNI 5<in can scarcely stand directly after ")jn '^nil NIH • 
The y'^ y^^ Budde associates with the DHDJl o^ 6=4. 

(8) 16:13sq. For Q'7n read □♦n':>J< and supply after it »ni • In 
V. 14 the original sense of the name ^^"1 '>r^ '^^^D must have been 
something like Well of Lookout Rock ; but for ^J^^ read 'i^'^ and we 
may translate, Well of the antelope's jawbone. J, however, pro- 
nounced \sn '>Vb 1N*5 • 

(9) 18:21 read ^^"2 in place of n'?^ • 

(10) 19:12 read -|»:inn for 'y^y\ fJ-lH • 

(11) 21:20 nSJ'p an ancient gloss explanatory of the unusual n!3") 
" archer." 

(12) 22:14. The author has suggested on page 141 the name ^JUH 
in place of nnOIl ^ and v. 8 shows that in v. 14 the etymology was 
based upon the stem ni^"1 • The very fact that the attempt to afford 
an etymology for HHD is so far from satisfactory is evidence that no 
new construction was undertaken, but a comparatively slight modifi- 
cation of the original. The author suggests the reading ♦}«$*)~'7K (cf- 
16:13 and 35:7) for nj^T-niH* , and in 14b D\*l':'5«?n for niH^ • 

(13) 24:61 sq. For J^^ \>m''^ \^'>^ ^'pTSTMi -l^^H Hp^ 

^y\ "^^^D kdo read i^y^ :pnr'7 ^'^ npD"i-n{< iai?rr rrp»i 

(14) 33:18. For ^^\^ read Q^JJ^ . 

(15) 49:24. For f^^"^ U^^ read *^tlO . 



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